13/03/2026
WORKS OF THE WEEK
ANTHONY FRY (1927-2016)
‘Indian Bed’, 1994
carborundum etching, a printer’s proof aside from the edition of 30
16 1/2 x 18 in. / 41.9 x 45.7 cm.
£3,500
For this week’s Works of the Week we look at two artworks currently on show in our Anthony Fry exhibition.
Fry was a British figurative painter whose exploration of light and colour was at the heart of his practice. A prolific traveller in search of inspiration, Fry’s work was inspired by many foreign landscapes, from Italy to Morocco, Malta, and India. It was India, however, that had a very profound influence on his work, particularly Cochin, Kerala, where Fry spent the winter months from the early 1990s.
‘Indian Bed’ presents a richly decorative yet contemplative scene centred on an ornate bed illustrated in vibrant colour. The bed frame, painted in a luminous turquoise green, forms the structural anchor of the composition. Draped over the frame is an elaborate Indian textile that elevates the visual field, its surface animated by painterly, abstract patterns and marks.
ANTHONY FRY (1927-2016)
‘Nude in a Red Hat’
oil and pigment on paper
13 1/4 x 10 3/4 in 33.7 x 27.3 cm
£6,000
In ‘Nude in a Red Hat’ the composition is simple and direct. The indistinct features of the man create an ambiguity to the work which encourages the viewer to focus less on individual identity and more on the figure as a presence within the painted space. As with many of Fry’s works, the figure appears less like a portrait of a particular person and more like a symbolic inhabitant of a constructed pictorial field.
All works can be viewed on our website via link in bio.