About this artwork

This is one of Martin’s earliest abstract paintings, shown in his first exhibition of abstract work at the Leicester Galleries in London in 1950. By placing rectangles and squares at an angle, Martin has created the effect of movement, as if the shapes are tumbling from the top left corner to the bottom right of the canvas. The colours are muted and the shapes balanced, so no one element dominates the painting.

Updated before 2020

  • artist:
    Kenneth Martin (1905 - 1984) English
  • title:
    Composition
  • date created:
    1949/50
  • materials:
    Oil on canvas
  • measurements:
    40.70 x 35.50 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Bequeathed by Mr Ken Powell 2006 [received 2008]
  • accession number:
    GMA 5064
  • gallery:
  • subject:
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Kenneth Martin

Kenneth Martin