Craigie Aitchison C.B.E., R.S.A, R.A.

(British, 1926-2009)

Italian Easter Egg 76.2 x 63.5 cm. (30 x 25 in.)

Footnotes

Provenance
With Thomas Gibson Fine Art, London, 22 December 1994, where acquired by the present owner
Private Collection, Germany

Exhibited
London, Thomas Gibson Fine Art, Jerwood Painting Prize Exhibition, 1994
London, Royal Academy of Arts, Craigie Aitchison: Out of the Ordinary, 9 October-9 November 2003, cat.no.51 (col.ill.)

Literature
Cate Haste, Craigie Aitchison, A Life in Colour, Lund Humphries,
Farnham, 2014, p.117, pl.158 (col.ill.)

Writing in the 2003 Royal Academy of Arts exhibition catalogue, Andrew Lambirth notes that to Craigie Aitchison's streamlined repertoire of motifs "recently, exotically wrapped Easter eggs have been a subject, all coloured cellophane folded into flounced patterns. Of these Italian Easter Egg is about the finest, and Aitchison's favourite" (exh.cat. Andrew Lambirth, Craigie Aitchison, Out of the Ordinary, Royal Academy of Arts, 2003, p.15). Cate Haste further praises the present work stating that "Against a very dark background the object in its fluted cellophane wrapping hums through its controlled shapes and colours" (Cate Haste, Craigie Aitchison, A Life in Colour, Lund Humphries, Farnham, 2014, p.170).

When painted, Italian Easter Egg didn't escape critical attention. The picture was selected by Aitchison's dealer Thomas Gibson along with three further canvases for inclusion in the inaugural Jerwood painting prize. There were 240 entrants for the £30,000 purchase award, which in later years was to be won by artists such as Maggi Hambling, Patrick Caulfield, Gary Hume and Prunella Clough. On the evening of the ceremony Aitchison was in the pub at the crucial point and had to be fetched for the announcement that he had been victorious. Notoriously self-effacing, Aitchison's response to the win was to declare that the judges must have confused him with fellow shortlisted artist Euan Uglow. The Jerwood foundation selected the large Crucifixon 1994 as the winning work, and Italian Easter Egg was purchased shortly thereafter, remaining in the same private collection ever since.