Catalogue Raisonné. Portrait of Malcolm Morley II (etched glass)
The Major Periods
1962 – 1965: Early Pop Paintings
As one of the original wave of Pop artists Gerald Laing produced some of the most significant works of the British Pop movement. His paintings reproduced images of popular heroes such as starlets, film stars, drag racers, astronauts and skydivers. His 1962 portrait of Brigitte Bardot is an iconic work of the period and regularly features in major Pop retrospectives alongside Lincoln Convertible from 1964, a commemoration of the assassination of JFK.
1965 – 1970: Utopian Abstract Sculpture
From 1965 Gerald Laing's painting evolved into abstract sculptures using the techniques and materials of car customisation - lacquering, spray-painting and chrome-plating on metal.
View all Utopian Abstract Sculpture
1970 – 1973: Sculpture In The Landscape
A move from New York to the Highlands of Scotland in 1970 saw Gerald Laing's sculpture respond to the beauty, roughness and power of the surrounding landscape.
View all Sculpture In The Landscape
1972 – 2010: Public Sculpture
Public sculptures include the the Bank Station Dragons; the Rugby Sculptures at Twickenham Stadium; the Cricketer at Lords; the Highland Clearances Memorial in Helmsdale, Sutherland and Axis Mundi in Edinburgh.
1973 – 1980: Galina Series
Inspired by the figurative sculpture of the First World War Artillery Memorial at Hyde Park Corner, in 1973 Gerald Laing began to model in clay and cast in bronze. The Galina Series and associated sculptures were his first works from this period.
1982 – 2007: Portrait Heads
Gerald Laing's portrait work includes heads and reliefs of Luciano Pavarotti, Andy Warhol, Paul Getty and Sam Wanamaker.
2002 – 2005: War Paintings
The Iraq war and the publication of images of torture at Abu Ghraib prison drew Gerald Laing back to painting for the first time in over three decades. The War Paintings series sees the starlets and all-American heroes of his early paintings take on new, more sinister roles.
2004 – 2011: New Paintings
Returning to the style and subject matter of his early pop art paintings, Gerald Laing's latest paintings feature media images of contemporary celebrities including Amy Winehouse and Kate Moss.
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Portrait of Malcolm Morley II (etched glass)
Catalogue No. 383
Artist's CR 362
1976
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Three etched glass sheets, mounted in frame.
Edition of 20
18 x 18 x3 inches / 46 x 46 x8 cm
- Gerald Laing: Paintings and Sculpture 1963–1983, Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Coventry, 1983
- Gerald Laing: Sculpture 1968–1999, The Fine Art Society, London, 1999
- Gerald Laing: From 1963 to the Present, Bourne Fine Art, Edinburgh, 2004
- Space, Speed, Sex: Prints and Multiples 1965–1976, Sims Reed Gallery, London, 2006
- Gerald Laing: Paintings and Sculpture 1963–1983, exhibition catalogue, Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, 1983
- Gerald Laing: Sculpture 1968–1999, exhibition catalogue, The Fine Art Society, 1999
- Gerald Laing: From 1963 to the Present, exhibition catalogue, Bourne Fine Art, 2004
- Lindsey Ingram and Rupert Halliwell (eds.), Gerald Laing Prints and Multiples: A Catalogue Raisonné, Sims Reed Ltd, London, 2006
- Space, Speed, Sex: Prints and Multiples 1965–1976, exhibition catalogue, Sims Reed Gallery, 2006
I first saw the etched glass technique on the windows of a customised van in New Mexico, where I spent a year in 1976-7 teaching at the University. In these works I used it to extend the possibilities of printmaking. The imagery is figurative and highly stylised.
Gerald Laing: Paintings and Sculpture 1963–1983, Gerald Laing, exhibition catalogue, Herbert Art Gallery, Coventry, 1983