Salix, 1990-1991

Gillian Ayres RA (1930 - 2018)

RA Collection: Art

Sharing its title with a genus of deciduous trees and shrubs, Salix abounds in imagery derived from flowers and trees. At the time Gillian Ayres painted the work she was living in the valley dividing North Devon and Cornwall, where according to writer Alexandra Pringle she cultivated ‘a garden of rare trees and bushes... retiring Old English roses, gaudy marigolds and purple hibiscus’.

The period in which Ayres painted Salix also coincided with her first visits to India. In 1990 the British Council invited Ayres to spend time in Jaipur, where she painted pictures which were exhibited at the India Triennale in New Delhi the following year (Ayres returned to visit the exhibition). While it is difficult to discern any specific influence that these experiences had on Ayres’ painting, it is interesting to consider how Ayres' travels may have affected her.