Peter Lanyon

Solo Flight

About this artwork

'Solo Flight' was one of the first paintings completed after Lanyon had learned to fly over the Cornish coast in his glider, a favourite hobby. Talking about this picture, he explained that "The red is the track of something moving over the surface of the painting, and, at the same time, the track of the aircraft moving over the ground below. Blue air merges with the land. I wanted to get the sense of something far away and down below inside the red track". After exhibiting in New York in 1957, Lanyon began employing the expressive, gestural brushstrokes used by the American Abstract Expressionists.

Updated before 2020

  • artist:
    Peter Lanyon (1918 - 1964) English
  • title:
    Solo Flight
  • date created:
    1960
  • materials:
    Oil on masonite
  • measurements:
    121.50 x 183.00 cm; Framed: 125.50 x 187.00 x 5.00 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Purchased 1983
  • accession number:
    GMA 2742
  • gallery:
  • artwork photographed by:
    Antonia Reeve
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Peter Lanyon

Peter Lanyon