Relief Construction in Wood
About this artwork
Mellis was encouraged to experiment with collages and constructions by her friend, the artist Ben Nicholson, whose family lived with Mellis and her husband in St Ives at the start of the Second World War. These new works forced Mellis to 'think in a different way, not in colour which was natural for me.' This relief is somewhere between a painting and a sculpture, as it is put together, or 'constructed', using wood of different colours and textures. Mellis has used both geometric and natural shapes: for example, the egg shape in the centre, which is divided by a triangle.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Margaret Mellis (1914 - 2009) Scottish
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title:Relief Construction in Wood
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date created:1941
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materials:Wood relief, pencil
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measurements:36.40 x 37.30 cm (relief size); 54.50 x 57.00 x 6.00 cm (framed size)
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object type:
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credit line:Purchased 1983
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accession number:GMA 2745
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gallery:
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subject:
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
Margaret Mellis
Margaret Mellis
Mellis was born in China to Scottish parents and moved to Britain when she was one year old. She studied at Edinburgh College of Art under S. J. Peploe, winning a scholarship to study in Paris in 1933. In 1939 Mellis moved to St Ives with her husband, the writer Adrian Stokes. There, she became...