Peter Lanyon (1918 - 1964)

Enamel colour on porcelain tile
15 x 15 cm
Signed and dated on reverse

Provenance
Austin/Desmond Fine Art, London
Private Collection, UK

This enamel tile relates to Lanyon’s 1960 mural The Conflict of Man with The Tides and Sand sited at Liverpool University. Lanyon was commissioned by the architects Fry, Drew and Lasdun, who were keen to incorporate art into their buildings. Porcelain tiles were suggested as the work could then be directly applied to the walls of the reception area of the Civil Engineering Building. The tiles were painted with enamel colour before being fired in a kiln. Like the mural, this tile relates to the movement of waves, the impact and changes made to riverbeds and estuaries. Lanyon visited the Hydraulics Research Station where models had been built to simulate wave action.