This week the gallery window at 16 York Place is showing Beach Huts a small oil painting by the late Ruth Burden.
Ruth had her studio in central Worcester and I am privileged to both have known her and hold two of her small paintings. Ruth studied in Birmingham and Bath under such greats as Terry Frost, Peter Lanyon and William Scott and her work is still in galleries and collections.
She had the ability to capture everyday life, including people, with a humour and sensitivity that made the stylised forms utterly familiar.
Beach Huts (I have named the painting as it came to me after Ruth’s passing) captures the sun and the sea and the vast expanse of the coast, making us, the viewer, feel so small. I love the simplicity of the figures, small yet gestural and the warmth from the Naples Yellow sand. The beach huts grounding the painting, informing us that this is a landscape that we choose to frequent. The painting is simply lovely.
Ruth lived and worked in a large house on the edge of Britannia Square in Worcester and at the end of her life moved to Windmill Close which culminates York Place. Beverly Schofield’s account of Ruth Burden’s life was recorded in The Guardian in 2012 you can read it here https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/jan/26/ruth-burden-obituary