Alan Davie (1920–2014) was one of the most distinctive voices in post-war British art. Closely associated with the St Ives School, his bold, improvisational paintings draw from mythology, music, Surrealism, and Zen philosophy. His intuitive, expressive mark-making and vibrant symbolic language placed him at the forefront of 20th-century abstraction.
Game for Moonlight, signed, dated ‘Nov 1968’ and titled by the artist, is a vivid example of Davie’s gouache works on paper. With its layered composition and energetic visual rhythm, the piece captures his unique ability to fuse colour, gesture, and mythic symbolism into a visual language that is both playful and profound.
Davie studied at Edinburgh College of Art (1938–40) and was influenced early on by the works of Picasso, Klee, and later, Jackson Pollock and the American Abstract Expressionists. His exposure to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice and a solo exhibition at Catherine Viviano Gallery in New York (1956) helped cement his international reputation. He later became known for integrating influences from African and Oceanic art, as well as the philosophies of Zen Buddhism.
Major exhibitions of his work include retrospectives at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (2000), the Cobra Museum in the Netherlands (2001), and Jingling Space at Tate St Ives (2003–04). His work is held in public collections worldwide, and he was notably admired by David Bowie.
Origin: British
Date: 1968
Mateial: Gouache on paper
Dimensions: 56cm height × 76cm width
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Alan Davie (1920–2014) was one of the most distinctive voices in post-war British art. Closely associated with the St Ives School, his bold, improvisational paintings draw from mythology, music, Surrealism, and Zen philosophy. His intuitive, expressive mark-making and vibrant symbolic language placed him at the forefront of 20th-century abstraction.
Game for Moonlight, signed, dated ‘Nov 1968’ and titled by the artist, is a vivid example of Davie’s gouache works on paper. With its layered composition and energetic visual rhythm, the piece captures his unique ability to fuse colour, gesture, and mythic symbolism into a visual language that is both playful and profound.
Davie studied at Edinburgh College of Art (1938–40) and was influenced early on by the works of Picasso, Klee, and later, Jackson Pollock and the American Abstract Expressionists. His exposure to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice and a solo exhibition at Catherine Viviano Gallery in New York (1956) helped cement his international reputation. He later became known for integrating influences from African and Oceanic art, as well as the philosophies of Zen Buddhism.
Major exhibitions of his work include retrospectives at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (2000), the Cobra Museum in the Netherlands (2001), and Jingling Space at Tate St Ives (2003–04). His work is held in public collections worldwide, and he was notably admired by David Bowie.
Origin: British
Date: 1968
Mateial: Gouache on paper
Dimensions: 56cm height × 76cm width
+ Shipping Info
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