Lot Essay
The scene depicts the anticipation and intensity of the moments before the Palio, the famous horse race that has been held between local Italian dynasties in Siena since the 14th Century.
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Prelude to the Palio
Details
Michael Ayrton (1921-1975)
Prelude to the Palio
signed 'Michael Ayrton' (lower right)
oil on canvas
26 x 60 in. (66 x 152.5 cm.)
Painted in 1951.
Prelude to the Palio
signed 'Michael Ayrton' (lower right)
oil on canvas
26 x 60 in. (66 x 152.5 cm.)
Painted in 1951.
Provenance
Elizabeth Ayrton.
Mrs Hopkins, London.
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 8 November 1989, lot 151, where purchased by the present owner.
Mrs Hopkins, London.
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 8 November 1989, lot 151, where purchased by the present owner.
Literature
R. Orlando, Arte e Letterature II, Florence, 1951, p. 60.
Exhibited
London, Redfern Gallery, Michael Ayrton Paintings and Drawings, 1951, no. 3.
Edinburgh, Arts Council Gallery, Eight Young Contemporary British Painters, 1952, no. 5.
London, New Burlington Galleries, Artist's International Association, Mirror and Square, December, 1952, no. 33.
London, Whitechapel Art Gallery, Michael Ayrton Retrospective 1945-55, 1955, no. 31.
Cardiff, National Museum of Wales, Michael Ayrton - Recurring Themes and Images, 1981, p. 38, pl. 188.
Edinburgh, Arts Council Gallery, Eight Young Contemporary British Painters, 1952, no. 5.
London, New Burlington Galleries, Artist's International Association, Mirror and Square, December, 1952, no. 33.
London, Whitechapel Art Gallery, Michael Ayrton Retrospective 1945-55, 1955, no. 31.
Cardiff, National Museum of Wales, Michael Ayrton - Recurring Themes and Images, 1981, p. 38, pl. 188.
Special notice
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