MA X WELL DOIG
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1 Newsome Mill Clock Tower, South Face acrylic on canvas on panel 100 x 75 cms 39 3⁄8 x 29 1⁄2 ins
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2 Glove acrylic on canvas on panel 24 x 34 cms 9 1⁄2 x 13 3⁄8 ins
overleaf - left
3 Gasometer I acrylic on Velin Arches cream paper 69 x 48 cms 271⁄8 x 187⁄8 ins
overleaf - right
4 Jetty acrylic on Velin Arches cream paper 72 x 52 cms 28 3⁄8 x 20 1⁄2 ins
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Gable End in Winter (detail from no. 42) acrylic on canvas on panel 102 x 75 cms 40 1⁄8 x 29 1⁄2 ins
“I think loss can be beautiful, especially in architecture. It’s the face of the life within.”
MAXWELL DOIG
5 Gable End in Snow II monotype on Velin Arches cream paper 40 x 29 cms 15 3⁄4 x 113⁄8 ins
MAXWELL DOIG
2017
www.messums.com 28 Cork Street, London W1S 3NG  Telephone: +44 (0)20 7437 5545
Regarding Surface In England, we generally have two types of snow: the happy kind that arrives all at once, shifting moods and plans, if only for a day. Then there is the second kind of snow, the kind familiar to anyone in Yorkshire. Perhaps less festive, this snow is gentler and more evocative, because while it might not fall every year, when it does it lingers, icily weaving itself into the fabric of everyday life. Some of the best examples of this relationship between the human and the elemental endure in the old barns, mills and moorland houses of the West Riding, home to Maxwell Doig. “I’m still working on some of these”, Doig says, pulling out several pictures in the small, but well lighted studio
7 Swimmer in Striped Costume monotype on Velin Arches cream paper 40 x 29 cms 15 3⁄4 x 113⁄8 ins
he’s fashioned out of an upstairs space in his Huddersfield home. Already hanging on the studio walls are several large paintings, some of which are obviously complete (and exquisitely so); others appear to be at that “almost” stage that is so exciting for the viewer and so nerveshredding for the artist. All of the pictures are typical of Doig’s style, which combines delicate colour, tone and texture to communicate a variety of equally subtle matter: fog, snow, sand and grass; the windswept wooden sides of beached boats and fishing huts, and the stony, metalfeatured faces of industrial architecture. Moreover, all of his pictures are potently atmospheric, and one, Newsome Mill in Snow (cat. no. 22) has a polar sense of contrast that asserts the building’s physical reality, while hinting at something intangible (but no less vital) that once lay within
6 Figure in Moorland Water monotype on Velin Arches cream paper 40 x 29 cms 15 3⁄4 x 113⁄8 ins
8 Gable End in Snow I acrylic on canvas on panel 122 x 90 cms 48 x 35 3â „8 ins
Algernon Newton’s pictures: his hills and houses have such identity.” Likewise, Doig’s different aspects of the clock tower invite ideas of what this structure – the hub of a factory that ran for over 150 years – might have meant to the people who built it, to the people it governed, and maybe even to the people who walk past it today. Only two weeks after he completed many of these paintings, Newsome Mill, which was planned for a major redevelopment, was destroyed in a suspicious fire leaving little else but the clock tower. “I
9 Swimmer in Still Water monotype on Velin Arches cream paper 72 x 52 cms 28 3⁄8 x 20 1⁄2 ins
its hammered-stone walls. “All of my buildings are actual places”, he explains. “But I tend to choose structures that are solitary or distinct.” Newsome Mill, a former Victorian textile works and a Huddersfield landmark, inspired several of Doig’s new pictures, each of which specifically focuses on the mill’s clock tower and its correspondence to the works’ remaining buildings. The paintings show a level of detail seldom found outside architectural plans, but are in no wise prosaic. In fact, depending on the direction of the tower, its broken faces variously appear to gaze down on the street; frown at the rusty water tank above, or even look levelly out of the picture. “I think loss can be beautiful, especially in architecture. It’s the face of the life within. I’ve always loved
10 Palimsest Wall, Dyeworks monotype on Velin Arches cream paper 39 x 28 cms 15 3⁄8 x 11 ins
11 Hut, Dungeness I acrylic on canvas on panel 75 x 102 cms 29 1⁄2 x 40 1⁄8 ins
caught it just in time and I’m glad I did. Just when you think something is permanent it disappears... Perhaps this is part of my job - to capture something before it disappears.” Doig’s eye for the spirit of past purpose that ‘haunts’ certain buildings (even in the most vital cities), creates architectural views that are almost palimpsests of their successive tenants: a subject that is directly connected to how he developed his distinctive technique. In fact, if painting is technically plastic – i.e. images formed from globs of pure, viscous colour – then Doig’s paintings are glyptic, because he develops his images through a process of taking away.
13 Tanks behind the Trees monotype on Velin Arches cream paper 40 x 29 cms 15 3⁄4 x 113⁄8 ins
“As a kid, I actually wanted to be an archaeologist and in a curious way, that’s sort of what I do now with images and surfaces: I excavate until I find something.” Working primarily in acrylic, he builds layers of refined tone and colour over various coarser grounds, often mixed with sawdust or paint scrapings. “Once I have three or four layers built up, I scrape it back to the ground, hoping to find interesting textures that might suggest a wall, plastered, wooden, maybe dry-stone. Sometimes, I find nothing but marks and shapes I’d never even thought of, but then they lead to something else entirely.” It is a technique that Doig evolved over several decades and largely on his own terms, although he credits David Blackburn for guiding his draughtsmanship and stressing its primacy. Speaking with Andrew Stewart in 2012, Doig
12 Rockface monotype on Velin Arches cream paper 40 x 29 cms 15 3⁄4 x 113⁄8 ins
14 Hut with Rail Track, Dungeness acrylic on canvas on panel 122 x 90 cms 48 x 35 3â „8 ins
overlooked follows in the tradition of Grand Tour painters like Thomas Jones, whose work Doig knows and admires. But as Algernon Newton once pointed out: “A gasometer can make as beautiful a picture as a palace on the Grand Canal… It simply depends on the artist’s vision.” Indeed, one of Doig’s pictures that best captures his holistic sense of architecture is Gasometer II (cat. no. 36), where his “magichour” play of light on the Victorian ironwork highlights its elegance, but perhaps also its obsolescence. This sharp eye belies Doig’s warm intellectual generosity, and unlike some painters, he could never be accused of foregrounding himself. But somehow, he is still present in many of these works, like a shadow in a photograph cast by the person behind the camera. Andrea Gates director
15 Winter Gable End II monotype on Velin Arches cream paper 39 x 28 cms 15 3⁄8 x 11 ins
recalled his long friendship with Blackburn, whom he met in 1984: “His influence was crucial. He taught me how to draw and showed me the importance of form and structure, all of which are still central concerns today. Doig’s insight into how we read certain types of buildings as avatars – how a clocktower can shout pride while reminding us that time has the last word, or, depending on how we view solitude, a lone beach hut can evoke haven or exile. His sense for the beauty and subtlety of the
16 Boat (Yorkshire Coble), Port Mulgrave monotype on Velin Arches cream paper 28 x 39 cms 11 x 15 3⁄8 ins
17 Gable End with Wall acrylic on canvas on panel 122 x 89 cms 48 x 35 ins
18 Winter Gable End I acrylic on Velin Arches cream paper 71 x 53 cms 28 x 20 7â „8 ins
19 Newsome Mill acrylic on canvas on panel 126 x 91 cms 49 5⁄8 x 35 7⁄8 ins
20 Gable End, Pole Moor 1 acrylic on Velin Arches cream paper 54 x 73 cms 211⁄4 x 28 3⁄4 ins
21 Gable End, Pole Moor 2 acrylic on Velin Arches cream paper 73 x 45 cms 28 3⁄4 x 211⁄4 x ins
22 Newsome Mill in Snow acrylic on canvas on panel 101 x 75 cms 39 3⁄4 x 29 1⁄2 ins
23 Gable End, Marsden acrylic on Velin Arches cream paper 50 x 69 cms 19 5⁄8 x 271⁄8 ins
24 Newsome Mill, Clock Tower, West Face acrylic on canvas on panel 100 x 75 cms 39 3⁄8 x 29 1⁄2 ins
25 White Fishing Boat, Hastings acrylic on Velin Arches cream paper 53 x 72 cms 20 7⁄8 x 28 3⁄8 ins
26 Abandoned Boat Winch, Dungeness acrylic on canvas on panel 62 x 85 cms 24 3⁄8 x 331⁄2 ins
27 Yellow Fishing Boat, Hastings acrylic on Velin Arches cream paper 53 x 72 cms 20 7⁄8 x 28 3⁄8 ins
28 Abandoned Boat acrylic on Velin Arches cream paper 54 x 73 cms 211⁄4 x 28 3⁄4 ins
29 Derelict Barn, Bempton acrylic on Velin Arches cream paper 54 x 73 cms 211⁄4 x 28 3⁄4 ins
30 Abandoned House acrylic on Velin Arches cream paper 54 x 73 cms 211⁄4 x 28 3⁄4 ins
31 Winter Barn with Frost acrylic on canvas on panel 75 x 102 cms 29 1⁄2 x 40 1⁄8 ins
32 Dye Works Wall with Doorway acrylic on canvas on panel 86 x 63 cms 337⁄8 x 24 3⁄4 ins
33 Fisherman's Hut acrylic on Velin Arches cream paper 73 x 54 cms 28 3⁄4 x 211⁄4 ins
34 Mill in Snow acrylic on canvas on panel 63 x 86 cms 24 3⁄4 x 337⁄8 ins
35 Tanks behind the Trees II acrylic on canvas on panel 86 x 63 cms 337⁄8 x 24 3⁄4 ins
36 Gasometer II acrylic on canvas on panel 122 x 90 cms 48 x 35 3â „8 ins
37 Yorkshire Coble, Port Mulgrave I acrylic on Velin Arches cream paper 53 x 73 cms 20 7⁄8 x 28 3⁄4 ins
38 Yorkshire Coble, Port Mulgrave II acrylic on canvas on panel 64 x 90 cms 25 1⁄4 x 35 3⁄8 ins
39 Moorland House acrylic on Velin Arches cream paper 74 x 53 cms 29 1⁄8 x 20 7⁄8 ins
40 House acrylic on canvas on panel 126 x 92 cms 49 5⁄8 x 36 1⁄4 ins
41 Winter Wall with Bathtub acrylic on Velin Arches cream paper 48 x 69 cms 187⁄8 x 271⁄8 ins
42 Gable End in Winter acrylic on canvas on panel 102 x 75 cms 40 1⁄8 x 29 1⁄2 ins
43 Jetty, Southwold Harbour acrylic on Velin Arches cream paper 73 x 54 cms 28 3⁄4 x 211⁄4 ins
44 Hut, Dungeness II acrylic on canvas on panel 75 x 102 cms 29 1⁄2 x 40 1⁄8 ins
45 Figure, in Rocking Chair, with Polka Dot Dress monotype on Velin Arches cream paper 40 x 29 cms 15 3⁄4 x 113⁄8 ins
46 Sleeping Figure under Coat acrylic on Velin Arches cream paper 72 x 52 cms 28 3⁄8 x 20 1⁄2 ins
47
48
Late Summer Greenhouse
Norfolk Marshes
monotype on Velin Arches cream paper 28 x 39 cms 11 x 15 3⁄8 ins
monotype on Velin Arches cream paper 29 x 40 cms 113⁄8 x 15 3⁄4 ins
49 Figure in Steamer Chair acrylic on Velin Arches cream paper 53 x 73 cms 20 7⁄8 x 28 3⁄4 ins
50 Gable End, Winter acrylic on Velin Arches cream paper 73 x 53 cms 28 3⁄4 x 20 7⁄8 ins
51 Standing Figure with Blanket acrylic on canvas on panel 134 x 97 cms 52 3⁄4 x 38 1⁄4 ins
52 Industrial Air Vent acrylic on Velin Arches cream paper 69 x 48 cms 271⁄8 x 187⁄8 ins
53 Leaning Figure with Blanket acrylic on Velin Arches cream paper 73 x 54 cms 28 3⁄4 x 211⁄4 ins
MAXWELL DOIG 1993
photograph © Andrew Sanderson
Chronology 1966 Born in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK. 1982-1984 Dewsbury and Batley Art College. 1984 Meets David Blackburn, who becomes a mentor. 1985-1988 Manchester School of Art; awarded BA (Hons) in Fine Art. 1987 Completes first boat drawings, which become an ongoing series. 1988-1990 Slade School of Art; Postgraduate Study in Fine Art. 1989 Anatomy for Artists, University College, London. 1989 Regular visits to British Museum and Petri Museum, UCL. 1990 Commences Association with the Hart Gallery. 1990 First solo exhibition, Hart Gallery, Nottingham. Wins Joseph Webb prize for draughtsman under 35 years. 1991-1992 Awarded place at Hochshule Der Kunst, Berlin, as Artist in Residence. Visits museums and galleries. 1992 Begins to develop methods using mixed media on paper.
Moves to Slaithwaite, near Huddersfield, sets up first studio. 1995 Completes ‘Self-portrait drawing textile worker’, first aerial view. Shortlisted for Villiers David prize. 1997 Touring exhibition, Wakefield, Harrogate, Salford, Huddersfield. Wins Villiers David Prize. Travels extensively through USA (East and West Coast), Australia and Mexico, visiting anthropology museum in Mexico City and travelling to the Gulf of Mexico. 1998-1999 Completes textural aerial views inspired by travels. Villiers David Prize exhibition, Hart Gallery. 1999-2001 Part-time Lecturer at Leeds Metropolitan University. 2002 Commences Association with the Albemarle Gallery. 2002 First solo exhibition at Albemarle Gallery, London. 2003 Travels to Belgium, visiting museums in Bruges, Brussels and Ghent, seeing works by Van Eyck and Permecke. 2005 First exhibitions in New York and Bologna in association with Albemarle Gallery. 2007 Exhibits in Milan and Bologna. Regular visits to East coast near Whitby. 2008 Solo exhibition, Albemarle Gallery. Continues with aerial views of solitary figures. 2010 - 2011 ‘Four British Figurative Painters’, Albemarle Gallery and Ettinger Gallery, New York. 2012 Early works from the David Blackburn collection at 108 Gallery, Harrogate. 2013 Solo exhibition at Jersey Arts Centre, St Helier, Jersey. 2014 Making of the film ‘Figures in Solitude’. 2015 Solo Exhibition, Albermarle Gallery. Begins to explore architectural ideas.
Solo Exhibitions 2015 2014 2013 2012 2012 2008 2008 2007 2006 2004 2002 2001 1999 1999 1997 1997
1995 1994 1992 1990
Figures in Solitude, Albermarle Gallery, London 108 Fine Art, Harrogate Jersey Arts Centre, St Helier, Jersey Albemarle Gallery, London. Early Works from the David Blackburn Collection at 108 Fine Art, Harrogate The Lowry Hotel Manchester Albemarle Gallery, London Studio Forni, Milan Albemarle Gallery, London Albemarle Gallery, London Albemarle Gallery, London Hart Gallery, London Villiers David Prize Exhibition Hart Gallery, London Hart Gallery, London Touring Exhibition: ‘Paintings and Drawings 1987-97’, Huddersfield Art Gallery, Wakefield Art Gallery, Mercer Gallery, Harrogate, and Salford Art Gallery Hart Gallery, London Hart Gallery, Nottingham Hart Gallery, Nottingham Hart Gallery, Nottingham
Selected Group Exhibitions 2016 2015 2015 2014 2013 2013 2012 2012
New Light Prize Open Exhibition, Mercer Gallery Harrogate New Light Prize Open Exhibition, Bowes Museum, County Durham Grand Summer Exhibition, Albermarle Gallery, London Contemporary Realism, Collective Exhibition, Albermarle Gallery, London Collective Exhibition, Albermarle Gallery, London Collective Exhibition, Albermarle Gallery, London Nude Collective Exhibtion, Albermarle Gallery, London Dive, Art and Water Exhibition, Mercer Gallery, Harrogate
2012 2011 2011 2011 2010 2010 2009 2008 2007 2007 2007 2006 2006 2005 2005 2005 2005 2005 2005 2004 2003 2003 2003 2003 2003
Aqueous Collective Exhibition, Albermarle Gallery, London Korean Art Fair, Seoul, Albermarle Gallery Albermarle Gallery, Summer Collective, London Elleanor Ettinger Gallery, British Figurative Painting, New York Albermarle Gallery, 4 British Figurative Painters, London Albermarle Gallery, Charity Group Exhibition, London Albermarle Gallery, Group Exhibition, London Albermarle Gallery, Summer Show,London ‘Standard Chartered’ Exhibition, London ‘Form London’, Olympia, Albemarle Gallery, London ‘Arte Fiera’ Galleria Forni, Bologna ‘Human Art’, Lucio Barbera, Sicily ‘10th Anniversary Exhibition’, Albemarle Gallery, London ‘Arte Fiera’ Galleria Forni, Bologna ‘Nuovo Figurazione Britannica’, Galleria Forni, Bologna ‘What is Realism’, Albemarle Gallery, London ‘Summer Exhibition’, Eleanor Ettinger Gallery, New York ‘British Figurative Art’ Two Man Show, Eleanor Ettinger Gallery, New York Holman and Fenwick, London ‘London Art Fair’, Business Design Centre, London ‘artLONDON’, Burton’s Court, London ‘Summer Exhibition’, Eleanor Ettinger Gallery, New York ‘International Sumer Show’, Albemarle Gallery, London ‘Villiers David Prize-winners’, Ten Years’ Christies, London ‘New Year, New Work’, Albemarle Gallery, London
2000 2000 2000 1999 1998 1998 1997 1997 1996 1996 1995 1995 1994 1994 1994 1993 1993 1993
1992 1992 1991 1991 1991 1991 1991 1990 1990
‘Blake’s Heaven’ Tribute Exhibition to William Blake, Scholar Fine Art Group Exhibition, Riverhouse Gallery, London Twentieth Century British Art Fair, London ‘Discerning Eye’ Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London Hart Gallery Group Exhibition, Lee & Priestley Solicitors, Leeds ‘Art ‘98’ Art Fair, Islington, London Twentieth Century British Art Fair, London ‘Northern Light’ Exhibition, Whitehall, London Twentieth Century British Art Fair, London ‘Ghent Art Fair’, Hart Gallery Belgium ‘Young Masters’ Group Exhibition, Mercer Gallery, Harrogate ‘Geneva Art Fair’, Hart Gallery, Switzerland Two Man Exhibition, Mercer Gallery, Harrogate Group Exhibition, Hart Gallery, London ‘Art ‘94’, London Art Fair Group Exhibition, Terrace Manchester Art Fair ‘Laing’ Landscape Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London and Mercer Gallery, Harrogate ‘Edinburgh Festival, Hart Gallery ‘Art ‘93’, London Art Fair ‘The Green Book Exhibition’, Dean Clough, Halifax ‘The Sixth International Art Fair’, Olympia, London Gulascy Gallery, Budapest ‘Images of the Yorkshire Landscape’, Civic Hall, Leeds ‘Post-graduate Exhibition’, Slade School of Art Strang Print Room, University of London East West Gallery, London
1990 1990 1989 1988
1986 1986
Intaglio Gallery, London ‘Bankside Open’ Exhibition, London ‘Bankside Open’ Exhibition, London ‘One Hundred and Fifty Years of Art in Manchester’, Cavendish Building, Manchester Metropolitan University ‘Young Contemporaries’, Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester Exhibition with Photographer Andrew Sanderson at Huddersfield Sports Centre, opened by Barry Shearman MP
Awards 2015 1997 1995 1990 1989 1988 1987
Shortlisted for the Valeria Sykes Award Winner of ‘Villiers David’ Prize Short-listed for ‘Villiers David’ Prize ‘Joseph Webb’ Prize for Draughtsman Under 35 Years Laura Ashley Scholarship Scholarship to the Slade School of Art, University of London Landscape Drawing Award, Manchester Academy Open Exhibition
Selected Essays and Publications 2015
2015
2013 2013 2012
2012 2012 2011
“Maxwell Doig Disegno and a sense of decorum” Esaay by Robert Hall (art historian and curator). The Silence of Solitude: The Vision of Maxwell Doig, Catalogue Essay by Lynne Green ‘Studio Visit’ critical essay by Jo Manby Ithaca Lit, Spring. Featured artist by Michelle Lesko ‘The Art of the Nude’ by John O’Hern, ‘Amercian Art Collector Magazine’, October 2012 Feature by Val Javin, September, Huddersfield Examiner In Conversation with Andrew Stewart, Exhibition Catalogue Exhibition review, ‘British Figurative Painting’ at Ettinger Gallery, New York, American Arts Quarterly, Summer 2011, Volume 28, No 3.
2008 2007 2007 2006 2006 2005 2003 2003
2001 2001 2001 2000 1999 1999 1998 1998
1998 1997
Exhibition review by Steve Pil for Artists & Illustrators (May) Catalogue essay by Barbara Frigario, ‘Figures in Solitude’. Exhibition review by Alessandro Redaelli for Art magazine (October) Catalogue essay by John Russell Taylor, solo exhibition, Albemarle Gallery. Book cover: The Novel Now by Richard Bradford (Oxford: Blackwell) Interview with Jenny Parkin for Huddersfield Examiner 11th February. Who’s Who in Art, 31st Edition, Hilmarton Manor Press Christies exhibition review ‘Formal & Dignified’ by Tim Forrest, Mayfair Life (August) Exhibition review by Elspeth Moncrieff for The Art Newspaper (No. 114, May) Front cover, ‘Galleries’ magazine with painting ‘Warehouse Roof’. ‘Profile’ by Joe Manby in Arts Review (May) Book cover: Blue Fever by Clare MacDonald Shaw (Blackwater Press) Exhibition review by John Russell Taylor for The Times (19 January) Exhibition review by Charlotte Mullins for Galleries (January) ‘Sense and Sensation’, article by Houn Mallalieu for Country Life (June) Featured artist, ‘i2i’, artist newsletter, in conversation with Kirsty McGee. Touring exhibition review, ‘City Life’, Manchester by Kirsty McGee (April). Catalogue essay for ‘Villiers David’ Prize Exhibition, by Bridget Hayden Catalogue essay by Charlotte Mullins for touring exhibition.
1997 1997 1995
1995
1995
1994 1993 1991 1990
Exhibition review by Bridget Hayden for the ‘Big Issue’ Exhibition review by Deborah Stone for the Daily Express’ Provident Financial Art Collection Catalogue: A Celebration of 25 years of Collecting, critical assessment by John Sheeran Book cover: In a Rare Time of Rain by Milner Place (London: Chatto & Windus) Publication of essays: The Gaze of Love: Meditations on Art by Sister Wendy Beckett (London: Marshall Pickering) Exhibition review by Mary Sara for the Yorkshire Post ‘A Poetic Dialogue: Seven Painters’, The Hart Gallery Illustrated essay by Malcolm York for the ‘Green Book’ Catalogue introduction by David Blackburn, intro by John Hart
Maxwell Doig in his etching studio
Collections Jersey Arts Centre Standard Chartered Holman and Fenwick University of Manchester University of London Mercer Gallery, Harrogate Provident Financial Group Huddersfield Art Gallery Prudential Plc New Light Works in private collections throughout the UK, Europe and USA
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Gasometer I (detail – no. 3)
CDXX
ISBN 978-1-910993-12-5 Publication No: CDXX Published by David Messum Fine Art © David Messum Fine Art
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back cover
54 Leaning Figure with Hot-House Doors acrylic on Velin Arches cream paper 73 x 54 cms 28 3⁄4 x 211⁄4 ins
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