Tennants Auctioneers
Lot 7
Marie Walker Last (1917-2017) Abstract Inscribed verso ''Marie Walker Last for St Johns Queens Rd Ilkley'', oil on paper, 43cm by 58cm Before lot 7 During a childhood in West Yorkshire, Marie showed an early inclination towards art encouraged by her father, a successful textiles manufacturer and art enthusiast. After a spell in the Land Army during the Second World War, Marie's early artistic inclinations leant towards capturing the landscape of West Yorkshire. In the mid-1950's she became a member of the Northern Federation of Artists, and whilst attending their summer painting schools met leading artists such as Robert Medley and Terry Frost. Here she was encouraged to move beyond representational depictions of landscape towards more abstract, personal expressions of her surroundings. In 1956 Marie was accepted into the Chelsea School of Art, where she produced bold abstract expressionist work often inspired by her fascination with the Universe and space exploration. Whilst in London, Marie threw herself into the vibrant art scene, working for the Molton Gallery, Annely Juda and New Vision Centre Gallery. Her first solo show in 1959 was at University Gallery, Newcastle, an offshoot of the New Vision Centre Gallery focusing on contemporary abstract art. This was followed by a solo show in the New Vision Centre Gallery in London. In 1961 Marie married lawyer Tom Last and moved to his home town of Ilkley, where she established a studio in nearby Menston. Here she gravitated back to her early fascination with the Yorkshire landscape, which once more became a strong focus for her work. Marie exhibited both locally and nationally, with her first major retrospective held at Dean Clough Gallery, Halifax in 1991. Throughout her long career, Marie Walker Last experimented widely with different movements and styles, but her diverse work is unified by a common emotional response to the landscape around her. Marie Walker Last held many solo exhibitions throughout the 1950's, 60's and 70's and her works can be found in the collections of the Bank of England, Bradford University, Leeds University, Bradford Art Galleries and Museums, The Open University, Halifax Building Society, York University, Arthur Haigh Collection, Granada Television, Yorkshire Television and numerous private collections. ''It is difficult to put into words my aims as a painter: to be able to do so would make painting unnecessary. In abstract painting one is searching in deeper then surface levels for something glimpsed ''beyond human ken'', translating this into shapes, forms, colour and space and always struggling to convey that extra mystical something which is the essence of all good paintings''. Marie Walker Last 1966
