Tidelines by Nine

Artist Robert Callender (Mottingham, England, 1932 - 2011)

Date1979

Mediumoil on canvas

ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings

DimensionsOverall: Height: 184 cm, Width: 184 cm
Frame: Height: 185.7 cm, Width: 185.7 cm

AcquisitionPurchased in 1982 with assistance from the National Fund for Acquisitions.

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDAG002752

Keywords

About MeRobert Callender was born in Mottingham, Kent in 1932. He studied medical illustration at Edinburgh University in 1951 and then he went on to study art at Edinburgh College of Art. Callender draws his inspiration from the power of nature. His work depicts the harshness of the sea, the melodramatic aftermath of a storm and the bland, subtle changes in light. The softening effects of weather, mood and atmosphere are the key to his work. As a medical illustrator, he rearranges what he sees in the interests of conveying the essence of his subject. In this picture, he shows the way the tidelines change the land by eroding and restructuring the shore. The palette is restrained; muted tones of white and grey achieve the disquieting serenity of the deserted beach.

In his essay on the artist, the writer Hugh Adams wrote that Callender's shorescape is "untouched by man or art, an ageless, edge-of-the-world landscape."

More About Me

Collections Wall

The artist shows a rocky jumbled seascape in hues of white and grey, segmented into nine squares by lines representing the tide.