Painting of the Week - Frederick William Leist
Lost in Thought
This stunning romantic Art Deco portrait oil painting is by noted Australian/British artist Frederick Leist. He was born in Sydney, his parents both Londoners, and moved to England with his wife Ada in 1910 and exhibited prolifically, including at the Royal Academy, on his return. Like many artists, he became a war artist during the first world war and his dramatic battle scenes contrast markedly with his more delicate portraits. Painted circa 1925, this composition is of a beautiful young woman kneeling on the ground, a striped blanket covers her head and auburn curls and is around her shoulders and spread out on the ground around her. In one hand and scattered around her are beautiful pink flowers the colour of her lips. One shoulder and her face are bathed in light as she gazes down to her left, lost in thought. The brushwork and use of light are superb. Almost Orientalist by design, it is a super roaring twenties painting, full of vitality and impressionistic colour and influences and an excellent example of Leist's work.
Signed lower right.
Provenance Collection IMI PLC.
Click below for link to painting
https://www.richardtaylorfineart.com/artist/frederick-william-leist/lost-in-thought