John Skeaping (1901-1980) - 20th Century Lithograph Mare and Foal

Description

A charming mid-twentieth-century lithograph portraying a mare and her foal at feeding time. The artist has framed the scene with an elegantly decorative border, lending the composition a distinctive folk-art character. Signed and dated to the lower left. Beautifully presented in an oak frame. On paper.

Condition

Signs of wear consistent with age. Discolouration to the paper, including an area of bleaching to the lower left. Creasing throughout. Overall the artwork is in good condition for its age. Light wear to the frame, including scuffs and small indentations.

Size

49 x 75cm (19.3" x 29.5")
Framed Size: 57 x 82cm (22.4" x 32.3")

Artist Biography

John Skeaping (1901-1980) was born on 9 June 1901 in South Woodford, Essex, the son of the painter Kenneth Mathieson Skeaping. He trained at the Blackheath School of Art, Goldsmiths College, the Central School of Arts and Crafts, and the Royal Academy Schools. He won the Royal Academy Gold Medal and Travelling Studentship in 1921, and in 1924 was awarded the British Prix de Rome, taking up a scholarship at the British School at Rome. Whilst in Italy, Skeaping developed his method of direct carving, studying alongside Italian master marble carver Giovanni Ardini. It was there that he met sculptor Barbara Hepworth, whom he married in Florence in May 1925. During this period Skeaping was considered an equal to both Hepworth and Henry Moore, and Henry Moore later remarked that no sculptor of his generation had more natural talent than Skeaping. The marriage ended in the early 1930s. From 1930 to 1939 Skeaping taught at the Central School of Arts and Crafts, and during the Second World War he served in the intelligence corps as an official war artist. In 1948 he began teaching at the Royal College of Art, becoming Professor of Sculpture from 1953 to 1959. Skeaping became especially celebrated as an equine painter and sculptor, and designed a range of animal figures for Wedgwood. His life-size statue of the racehorse Secretariat is held at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. In 1959 he moved to France, settling in the Camargue. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy in 1950 and a full Royal Academician in 1959. He died in London on 5 March 1980.