Craigie Aitchison: Out of the Ordinary Book

The distinctively spare and dazzlingly hued paintings of Craigie Aitchison (b. 1926) hold a special place in British art. This book includes glorious reproductions of the key works of his distinguished career and an insightful essay by contemporary art critic Andrew Lambirth. After abandoning law school in 1952, Aitchison studied under Sir William Coldstream at the Slade School of Art. There his compositions became ever more summarized and simplified. On a scholarship in Italy he developed the unique palette and style that his mentor, the dealer and painter Helen Lessore, later defined as "truly Mediterranean." Over the years he has specialized in the traditional genres of portraiture, landscape, and still life; but in each case the result has been fresh and luminous, infused with a poetic sense of mystery and stillness, as if new life has been breathed into conventional subject matter. His interpretation of the Crucifixion has been an enigmatic presence in many of his works, and continues to be one of his most enduring subjects.Read More