1968
Oil on Canvas
122 x 183cm
Collection: The Janet Holmes a Court Collection

Limited edition Giclee archival prints of this painting are available for purchase. Paper size: 42.0 x 60.0 cm

Observing the Human Condition

I first saw Anne's work in the late 1960's I was delighted with two sketches of women. One is of a cafe in which each woman sits alone but is comfortable within their own skin. One women smoking with the air of 'to hell with it!’ another sits with an elegant crocked finger, asserting a cherished gentility.

At the same time, I saw The Outing 1968 and felt moved to tears. Again each woman was alone and now that I am of the age of these women, I know how truly Anne recognised the truth of their position in life.

Anne's Market scenes gives me a thrill of recognition. The plump man weighing out vegetables - is he resting his wrist on the scales(!)? Looking back over forty years I suddenly realise that the figures in these markets scenes are changing.

Anne mainly shows the backs of the shoppers. Market with Yellow Sky 1993 is a good example. The backs are as expressive as any face. The crippled rear of a man's trousers suggest someone who has lost his young bulk, but his hat is jauntily perched on his head. The woman next to him is trying to rest her old legs.

Plant Sale 1998 and Eumundi Market continue this style and speak of the variety of humankind and their resilience. This interpretation of humanity touches a responsive chord within me.

Betty Teltsher OBE