Lot 74

'Untitled (Severed Head)' 1978 followed closely on the heels of Peter Booth's related and celebrated 'Painting' 1977 (Man on the Road with White Dog). This seminal work clearly marked Booth's transition from abstraction to figurative work imbued with emotion, aspects of magic realism and the collapse of civilisation, inspired and informed by his readings of, amongst others, the writings of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, William Blake and Doris Lessing.
A partially submerged human head seen above the white dog in 'Painting' is now presented in another guise, taking centre stage as a rather sculptural form. Set against a dark and foreboding landscape, 'Untitled (Severed Head)' with its open eyes engenders a sense of disquiet through its confronting and uncompromising imagery. The tension encapsulated within the painting is powerfully provocative, a characteristic of Booth's key period work.