Attrib. George Osmund Caine (1914-2004) - Chalk Pastel Drawing Woman in Profile

Description

A striking portrait of a woman in profile in purple chalk pastel. Unsigned. Attribution from a typed label on the back of the now discarded frame stating his name and address in Kingston upon Thames. Because the label is contemporary to the drawing and gives his address, we feel that it is almost certainly genuine. On wove.

Condition

There is foxing across the substrate. There are four pinholes to the upper edge and some minor marks to the surface.

Size

40.9 x 31.9cm (16.1" x 12.6")
Sheet: 53.1 x 37.1cm (20.9" x 14.6")

Artist Biography

George Osmund Caine (1914-2004) was a painter, stained glass designer, born in Manchester, Lancashire. He attended Birmingham School of Art, 1930-37 where he studied under Richard Stubington and furthered his studies in Italy. He also studied singing at the Guildhall School of Music in London. He exhibited at RA, RBA, RBSA, NEAC and has held solo exhibitions at the Duncan Campbell Gallery, London in 1986. He executed many commissions for stained glass and mosaics in countries outside the UK. His interest in Arthurian legend often reflected in his work. He has also taught at Twickenham College of Technology where he established a vibrant graphic design department. Examples of his work are held in the collections of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, London University, Victoria and Albert Museum, and the GAC.

There were many other solo shows, including a retrospective exhibition that was held at Orleans House Gallery, Twickenham, in 1998. Retirement in 1976 gave him the chance to carry out more commissions for stained glass in churches. These included All Saints, Four Oaks, St. Cuthbert's, Copnor, St. Gabriel's, Cricklewood, St. Augustine's, Edgbaston, St. Mary's, Hong Kong, and St. Luke's, Wadestown, New Zealand. In the mid-1980s he also managed to achieve a Durham University honours degree in Medieval and Modern History. Caine did not court celebrity but received it internationally in 1996 when a newspaper reported that he was the true inventor of the bikini. A London art dealer pointed out that Caine's 1938 painting Bathing Beach featured bikini-clad figures eight years before the French structural engineer Louis Reard proposed the bathing costume while working on the American nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll.