POSITANO

Frederick Austin was born in Leicester, and studied at the Royal College of Art, winning the Prix de Roma for engraving in 1927 (as his elder brother had also done so in 1922).  At first he worked in the English pastoral tradition, with rustic and religious subjects, but as time went on it his style became more modernist, and some of his work seems almost avant-garde, and sometimes slightly unsettling.  He showed real technical virtuoso in his printmaking, sticking with traditional techniques with finely observed details.  During his lifetime he exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy and the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers and later in his life he taught etching and engraving. 

This linocut of Positano of 1954 is a lovely example of his work, with its earthy soft tones and the two female figures adding a sense of scale.

Medium: Linocut in colours

Signed: Yes signed, titled and dated 1954

Size: 44 x 32 cm