* BET LOW RSW ARSA RGI DLITT (SCOTTISH 1924 - 2007),
UNTITLED
gouache, signed in pencil
37cm x 49cm
Mounted, framed and under glass.
Note: There has been a distinct resurgence of interest in the work of Bet Low in recent years which was signposted with the £2200 achieved for lot 1701 McTear's 05.10.2014 "Hillside, Evening" which at the time, was the highest price achieved at auction for any work by Bet Low. Born in Gourock, Bet Low grew up by the Clyde Estuary in poor circumstances, influenced by the stark contrast between Glasgow's industrial areas and the surrounding Scottish countryside. Low married, and later divorced, the painter Tom MacDonald. With her family, she regularly visited Hoy in Orkney, where the light and landscape provided fresh inspiration for her work. Low studied at the Glasgow School of Art during the Second World War, and continued her studies at Hospitalfield House under James Cowie, who stimulated her lifelong interest in literature, philosophy and politics. Following the war, Low was a co-founder of the Clyde Group, part of the New Scottish Group of writers and artists. Low’s early figurative work was influenced by German Expressionism, and frequently depicted post-war Glasgow settings, characters, and refugees. Low also worked in illustration and theatrical set design at the Glasgow Unity Theatre, and created her first set design for Ena Lamont Stewart's "Men Should Weep". By the 1960s, Low had moved on to the more abstract work for which she is now best known.