By the age of thirty Tristram Hillier was recognised as one of Britain’s leading modernist artists
This section features three paintings exhibited as part of the 1934 Unit One exhibition – click through the gallery to explore
In 1934 Hillier was asked to join ‘Unit One’, a group which included British artists such as Paul Nash, Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Henry Moore and Edward Wadsworth. Members were broadly aligned either with abstract or surrealist art and held their first joint exhibition at the Mayor Gallery, London, in 1934. This ambitious and influential show then toured the UK.
In 1933 Hillier’s marriage to Georgiana broke down. Two years later he left London and returned to Europe.
Private collection
© The Estate of Tristram Hillier/Bridgeman Images
Oil on board, 50 x 63 cm
Journal to Georgiana demonstrates the artist’s continued experimentation with Cubist forms. The painting was first shown with The Anchor (see ‘Starting Out’) in Hillier’s second exhibition at Alex Reid & Lefevre in 1933. The following year it was reproduced in Herbert Read’s book Unit One and appeared in the Unit One touring exhibition.
Journal to Georgiana demonstrates the artist’s continued experimentation with Cubist forms. The painting was first shown with The Anchor (see ‘Starting Out’) in Hillier’s second exhibition at Alex Reid & Lefevre in 1933. The following year it was reproduced in Herbert Read’s book Unit One and appeared in the Unit One touring exhibition.
National Galleries of Scotland Bequeathed by Miss Elizabeth Watt, 1989
© The Estate of Tristram Hillier/Bridgeman Images
Oil on canvas, 92 x 60 cm
This painting was among the most popular works included in Unit One’s exhibition at the Mayor Gallery, London, in April 1934. Unit One artists were seeking a distinctively British form of Surrealism or were producing the austere industrial imagery of constructivist art. This strikingly original painting combines the two approaches.
Unit One consisted mostly of artists seeking a distinctively British form of Surrealism or were producing the austere industrial imagery of constructivist art. This strikingly original painting combines the two approaches.
Pylons was a relatively unusual painting for Hillier in also appearing to express an outwardly-focused social commentary, echoing or being echoed by, Stephen Spender’s much-anthologised poem ‘The Pylons’, published in the same year. For Spender the pylons then beginning to bestride the English countryside were ‘whips of anger’ that stood ‘tall with prophecy’ of a future containing both opportunity and danger.
Pylons was among the most popular works included in Unit One’s exhibition at the Mayor Gallery, London, in April 1934.
Tate: Purchased 1994
© The Estate of Tristram Hillier/Bridgeman Images
Oil on plywood, 70 x 55 cm
In Composition 1933 (Interior) Hillier pays tribute to his Unit One colleagues Paul Nash, Ben Nicholson and Edward Wadsworth. Their works are echoed within the composition. A Nash-like sea is visible beyond the door, a Wadsworth abstract hangs on the wall and a profile by Nicholson leans between the chairs.
In Composition 1933 (Interior) Hillier pays tribute to his Unit One colleagues Paul Nash, Ben Nicholson and Edward Wadsworth. Their works are echoed within the composition. A Nash-like sea is visible beyond the door, a Wadsworth abstract hangs on the wall and a profile by Nicholson leans between the chairs.
Gallery
This exhibition was supported by
