Notes

The present lot was inspired by a roadside curio of a simply carved black bird with a red beak. Such was Sash's imagination that the little rustic souvenir was transformed instantly into a single, regal bird, and then into a jostling, inquisitive flock. Frieda Harmsen, recalling the anecdote, noted that 'the model for Swazi Bird was a crude primitive Swazi carving. Even in the early compositions a sense of primitive design was apparent, but this is probably the first time that a bird is painted directly from an indigenous prototype. Like the carving, the painting is decorative. The painter has used the black pattern burned into the wood, but has intensified it by making the outlines more austere and alternating the black with white. The background to the bird is the familiar, sensitive ochre-grey, now displaying assurance and full competence of handling'.¹

¹ Frieda Harmsen and Victor Thorne. (1999) Cecily Sash: Working Years, Presteigne: Studio Sash. Page 51.

Literature

Frieda Harmsen and Victor Thorne. (1999) Cecily Sash: Working Years, Presteigne: Studio Sash. Page 51.