Arnold van Praag
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ARNOLD VAN PRAAG Arnold van Praag, born in 1926, trained at the Slade between 1953 and 1957, his first solo exhibition (in 1965) selling out before it opened. An auspicious beginning to an artistic career may have suggested a career in the public eye but Arnold van Praag chose to earn his living as a notable teacher. He initially became a Lecturer in Painting at Hertfordshire College of Art and Design, then subsequently the Head of Painting. In 1975, he became Visiting Tutor in painting at Camberwell School of Arts, a post he held until 1991, when he retired to work full time in his studio in Cambridge. Van Praag describes finding integral joy and inspiration in talking to students, alongside debating with colleagues with similar sensibilities during this time. Simultaneously, finding a contrary humour in the stylistic wars and attempts of stylistic take-overs during his time at Camberwell. Arnold van Praag’s paintings and drawings express the vibrancy and colour of everyday life; inspiration from his commute from rural Cambridgeshire into bustling city life is evident in the Crossing London Bridge series. His painterly approach, reminiscent of German Expressionism, yield moments of pure emotion and intense human interaction, captured in dynamic, bold colour. His subjects range from the Biblical, Parting the Red Sea and Moses and the Burning Bush, to the quotidian, In the Park and Painter’s Studio but all are treated with passion, strong brushstrokes and a distinctive palette. Arnold Van Praag has been represented by The Redfern Gallery since 2016 when he had his first major solo exhibition with the gallery Arnold van Praag at 90. This catalogue is a collection of work, previously unseen, demonstrating the perceptive qualities and painterly expertise developed over a 77 year-long career.
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Rack of Birds 2000 Oil on canvas 152.5 x 122cm #290419015
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City 1999/2003/4 Oil on canvas 152.5 x 137cm #290419011
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Rembrandt Painting the Ox, 1985 Oil on canvas 60 x 60cm #120619023
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Lautrec between palette and easel, 1995 Oil on board 37 x 19.5cm #120619001
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Butcher’s Counter 1982 Oil on canvas 122 x 152cm #290419016
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Lautrec Painting from Life 1998/99 Oil on canvas 136 x 152cm #290419020
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Moon City, 1997 Oil on canvas 106.5 x 122cm #290419022
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Butcher and Bird Oil on canvas 121 x 152cm #290419025
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Asleep on the Train, 2008 Oil on board 41 x 36cm #120619078
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Bearded Sleeper, 1990 Oil on board 31.5 x 24cm #230819026
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City Red Sun, 1998 Oil on board 91.5 x 76.5cm #290419038
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Yellow Road, 2011 Oil on board 41 x 51cm #120619007
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Butcher, c.1980 Oil on canvas 101 x 102cm #120619019
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Car Dump, 2000 Oil on canvas 71 x 76cm #120619010
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Evening Walk, 1984/85 Oil on board 30 x 38cm #120619016
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Fur Hat Fur Coat, c.1975 Oil on canvas 105 x 83cm #120619014
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Car Dump, 1995 61 x 84cm #130619095
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Car Dump, 1989 Oil on canvas 71 x 91cm #120619020
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Storm over Toledo (after El Greco), 1981 Oil on canvas 60 x 60cm #120619021
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Susannah and the Elders, 2004 Oil on board 61 x 71cm #120619026
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Street Lamps, 1998 Oil on board 46 x 51cm #120619037
Crossing London Bridge, 1997 Oil on board 46 x 51cm #120619066v
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Miraculous Draught of Fishes, 2009 Oil on board 40 x 51cm #120619068
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Leda, 2002 Oil on board 30.5 x 46cm #230819068
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Evening in the City, 2001 Oil on board 38 x 40.5cm #120619087
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Cezanne Still Life, 1998 Oil on board 46 x 51cm #120619086
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Susannah and the Elder, c.1975 Oil on board 28.5 x 28.5cm #130619092
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Storm over Toledo (after El Greco), 2004 Oil on canvas 76 x 101cm #130619096
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White Houses, 2009 Oil on board 76 x 91cm #130619097
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Fishmonger, 1995 Oil on canvas 71 x 76cm #130619105
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Moses and the Burning Bush, c.1975 Oil on board 41 x 36cm #080819002
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Storm Clouds ove East Anglia, 2006 Oil on board 61 x 71.5cm #080819075 59
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Soldier, 1995 Oil on canvas 61 x 51cm #230819013
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Storm over Toledo (after El Greco), c.2000 Oil on board 30.5 x 38.5cm #230819029
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Storm Over Toledo (After El Greco) Oil on board 30.5 x 40.5cm #230819050
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Storm over Toledo after El Greco, 2005 Oil on board 40 x 51cm #230819109
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ARNOLD VAN PRAAG 1926 1953-57 1957-70 1970-75 1975-91 1991-current
Born in England Studied at Slade School of Art, where he received a scholarship Lecturer in Painting at Hertfordshire College of Art and Design Head of Painting at Hertfordshire College of Art and Design Visiting Tutor in Painting at Camberwell School of Art Lives and works in Cambridge
Selected solo exhibitions 1963 1964 1965-67 1966 1969 1969-71 1973 1974 1976 1977 1980 1981 1982 1984 1986 1990 1991 1994-2000 2005 2007 2016
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Institute of Contemporary Arts, London 'Drawings' Roland, Browse & Deblanco 'The Face of Lautrec' Roland, Browse & Deblanco Roland, Browse & Deblanco (with Edward Middleditch) Roland, Browse & Deblanco (with Bernard Dunstan, RA) Galerie D’Eendt, Amsterdam Magdalene Street Gallery, Cambridge Oxford Gallery, Oxford Harlow Playhouse Gallery Arts Centre, Folkestone (with John Bratby) Campbell and Franks, London (with Edward Middleditch and Zdzislaw Ruszkowski) Newcastle Polytechnic Gallery, Newcastle Moira Kelly Gallery, London Small Works, Newcastle Polytechnic Newcastle Polytechnic Art Gallery, Newcastle Royal Overseas League, London South Hill Park Arts Centre, Bracknell and tour Ganz & Co. Ltd., Cambridge Cadogan Contemporary Gallery, London Art Space Gallery/Michael Richardson Contemporary Art, London James Hyman Fine Art, London 'From London' James Hyman Fine Art, London 'People' The Redfern Gallery, London ‘Arnold van Praag at 90’
Selected group exhibitions 1961 1966 1967 1971 1974 1978 1980/1 1982 1986 1988 1988/9 1992-2001 1995 1997 2000 2005
Arts Council, London, ‘The Senefelder Group’ Arts Council, Municipal Art Gallery, Dublin & Belfast City Museum, ‘Open Painting Exhibition’ Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, ‘The Face of Man’ Arts Council Touring Exhibition, ‘Art Spectrum’ Birmingham City Art Gallery/Camden Art Centre, London, ‘Forty Pictures from the Roland Collection’ Camden Art Centre, London, ‘Notices by Dick Lee’ Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol (and tour), ‘The Subjective Eye’ Kettles Yard, Cambridge/Newcastle Polytechnic/Stoke Museum, ‘East Anglian Artists’ Bernard Jacobson Gallery, London, ‘Small Paintings’ Gainsborough House, Sudbury (and tour), ‘Drawing for All’ - First Prize Boundary Gallery, London, ‘Master and Pupil’ Contemporary Art Society Market, Smith’s Galleries Covent Garden Redfern Gallery, London, ‘Summer Exhibition’ Ipswich, ‘Ipswich Open’ Boundary Gallery, London King’s Lynn, ‘East Anglian Open’ - First Prize Scolar Fine Art, London, ‘Blake’s Heaven’ The Drawing Gallery, London, ‘A Private Collector’s Choice’
Collections
Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre, London Ben Uri Gallery & Museum, London Courtauld Institute (Lillian Browse Collection) de Beers (Contemporary Art Society Purchase) Hertfordshire County Council Keele University Art Collection Peter Stuyvesant Foundation Manchester Art Gallery
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