Crazy Gondolier

Davie was one of the first British artists to be inspired by American Abstract Expressionism. The most prominent and significant element of Alan Davie's work is the incorporation of totemic, shamanic symbols. This painting features many of these symbolic images including the snake, inverted cross and rainbow. Although his work was beginning to be more structured, elements of the painting reveal a continued interest in the unconscious, unmediated gesture. This is the first painting by Davie to enter the national collection and the museum spent time researching a key work to enhance its significant collection of twentieth century British art.