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K E I T H VA U G H A N ( 1 9 1 2 - 1 9 7 7 ) Hampstead Ponds, 1961 Signed 'Keith Vaughan', dated 'September 1961' and titled 'Hampstead Ponds', verso Oil on canvas 40.5 x 43.2 (16 x 17 in) Provenance Kershaw Esq. R.N. Backford Redfern Gallery, London, 1983 Private Collection, U.K. Exhibited London, Whitechapel Gallery, Keith Vaughan: Retrospective, no. 302 (ill. in catalogue pl. LXXII) Literature Anthony Hepworth & Ian Massey, Keith Vaughan: The Mature Oils 1946-1977, Sansom & Co., Bristol, 2012, p. 130, no. AH 345 At first sight Hampstead Ponds appears to be a completely non- figurative image but, even at his most abstract, Vaughan's imagery is still rooted in observation. The lower patches of cobalt, cerulean and Prussian blue represent the bathing ponds, while the areas of textured olive green, umber and burnt sienna evoke the surrounding tree boughs and vegetation. Before 1970 (when it was dismantled after an accident) a tall diving tower stood on the site. Athletic and extrovert divers performed breath-taking somersaults from its dizzying heights before cheering onlookers. Vaughan took photographs of several and included some in his photographic albums Highgate Ponds (1933) and Dick's Book of Photographs (c. 1941). The dark, diagonal structures at the upper right of Highgate Ponds evoke the criss-cross wooden beams of the original high diving board. The composition of Hampstead Ponds is highly structured, with each of the pictorial forms arranged with care. The geometric shapes and patches of colour form a quiltlike effect as they press forward or recede into the composition. The textural richness of the surface demonstrates Vaughan's eloquence in handling pigment. Thick passages of impasto are played off against areas of craquelure while, in some places, pigment has been scraped away to reveal various layers. It is as though Vaughan's intention was to retain all the stages of the painting process in the final image. Hampstead Ponds was painted a year after Vaughan's first visit to Greece, where he travelled throughout the Peloponnese and the Cyclades. He returned home with greater confidence, having taken an extensive series of photographs and made numerous drawings. His experience of the Aegean Sea led to a predominance of blue and open areas of colour in his paintings. Furthermore, his handling of pigment also became richer and more expressive, while his approach to subject matter grew increasingly abstract. Over the course of his career, Vaughan produced eight oil paintings inspired by Hampstead Heath and its well-known bathing ponds: Snow on Hampstead Heath (1955), Bathers at Highgate I & II (1955), Hampstead Heath (1960/63), Hampstead Ponds (1961), Heath I – Russet (1963), Heath II – Blue (1963), Heath III – Cinnamon & Blue (1963) and Heath IV – Brown, Indigo & Green (1963). Hampstead Heath has eighteen ponds, scattered across its landscape. The Highgate reservoirs, dug out in the eighteenth century, were transformed into three freshwater bathing areas, fed by the River Fleet. Vaughan first discovered the ponds in 1933, finding a local retreat where he could sunbathe, swim, take photographs, sketch, socialize with like-minded individuals and indulge in his fascination with the male figure. 60