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K E I T H VA U G H A N ( 1 9 1 2 - 1 9 7 7 ) Poulgoazec, 1953 Oil on board Signed and dated 'Vaughan / 53', lower right 61 x 81 cm (24 x 31 ⅞ in) Provenance Julius Fleischmann Mr & Mrs Nick Lott Anthony Hepworth Fine Art, Bath Private Collection, UK Exhibited London, Leicester Galleries, Keith Vaughan: Paintings, 1953, cat. no. 7 London, Olympia Fine Art and Antiques Fair, Keith Vaughan: Paintings and Drawings, 2002, cat. no. 431 Bath, Victoria Art Gallery, Keith Vaughan: Figure and Landscape, 2007 cat. no. 17 Literature Whitechapel Gallery, Keith Vaughan: Retrospective (exhibition catalogue), London, 1962, pl. xxvii (ill. – not exhibited) A. Hepworth and I. Massey, Keith Vaughan: The Mature Oils 1946-1977, Sansom & Co., Bristol, 2012, p. 86, cat. no. 163 (ill. b&w) In 1949, Vaughan travelled to Brittany, cycling through Finistère and staying in small villages and hamlets, drawing as he went. What he discovered there came as a surprise. Rather than the sun-drenched scenery populated by the vibrant local culture he had imagined, he found a harsh, dour yet undeniably dramatic terrain. The experience had a marked effect on his painting. He recorded his response in his journal: 24 September 1949: Returned from France with little regret. Enjoyed much but without the whole of me. Saw France for what it was – a setting, without the allure of its imagined romantic possibilities. Was faintly repelled by the noise, stridency, smells which hitherto had been veiled by romanticism. On his return, Vaughan produced a series of paintings depicting stone cottages, village groupings, harbours, fishermen and lobster catchers, including Poulgoazec. The palette is subdued, reflecting the largely monochromatic character of the coastal settlements he visited. Close attention is paid to the vernacular architecture of Brittany, with its whitewashed walls, grey slate roofs, stone dressing, and modest fenestration. To the right of the composition, Vaughan even introduces the local architectural motif of a decorative ogee-arched doorway. Formally, the composition is structured through an interplay of geometric elements: pitched rooftops, tilted chimneys and windows, upturned fishing boats, and architectural arches. The three fishermen huddled in conversation at the lower left evoke the insular character of Breton community life. 28