Gerald Wilde (1905 - 1986)

This is the first retrospective publication devoted to the British abstract expressionist artist, Gerald Wilde. For the first time, it is possible to survey examples of his work from all his periods. After being sadly neglected during his life – in spite of the admiration felt for him by fellow artists – he is being given his rightful place. The only abstract expressionist who emerged in England, he was a pioneer in painting technique. His early work is full of scenes of the London life he saw with great intensity. For many people, he was inextricably linked with Gulley Jimson, the painter-genius of Joyce Cary’s novel. In his last period, he was producing the most remarkable images of ideas as if seeing their energy directly. This book contains twenty-eight color plates revealing the quintessence of Wilde’s art as well as forty-six illustrations. The book has an Introduction by David Sylvester which gives testament to Wilde’s genius. There are essays by William Feaver, Flash Allen (aka Marie Harding), and Corinna MacNeice, all of whom knew him in his last years and have helped in the mounting of major exhibitions of his work.