This selection is a reprise of an exhibition I curated at the Whitechapel Gallery in 2011, entitled Richard of York Gave Battle In Vain. All the works in the Whitechapel exhibition were taken from the Government Art Collection and chosen for their content and also their colour.The paintings were displayed in a salon hang, ordered according to their hue. For the ArtUK website I have similarly chosen works for their colour. I loved coming across paintings of ladies wearing red dresses, green dresses, blue dresses and yellow dresses.
The title Richard Of York.. is a mnemonic intended to help remember the colours of the rainbow. I dedicate this rainbow selection, chosen during the lockdown days of the Covid Pandemic, to our wonderful NHS.

Artists featured in this Curation: Luca Carlevarijs (1663–1730), Shani Rhys James (b.1953), Graham Vivian Sutherland (1903–1980), Stanley Cursiter (1887–1976), Patrick Heron (1920–1999), William Turnbull (1922–2012), Brian Hatton (1887–1916), Callum Innes (b.1962), James McBey (1883–1959), Georges van Houten (1888–1964), and 82 more See all

107 artworks

Storyline Album Showcase

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Image credit: Victoria and Albert Museum, London

A Man Wearing a Red Coat c.1700–1710
Luca Carlevarijs (1663–1730)
Oil on canvas
H 19.2 x W 9 cm
Paintings Collection

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Red Self Portrait 1992
Shani Rhys James (b.1953)
Oil on canvas
H 183.1 x W 122.2 cm
Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales

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Red Landscape 1942
Graham Vivian Sutherland (1903–1980)
Oil on canvas
H 68 x W 99.8 cm
Southampton City Art Gallery

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Red Lacquer 1922
Stanley Cursiter (1887–1976)
Oil on canvas
H 40.4 x W 45.6 cm
Orkney Islands Council

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Red Painting: 25 July 1963 1963
Patrick Heron (1920–1999)
Oil on canvas
H 121.9 x W 152.4 cm
National Galleries of Scotland

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15 – 1959 (Red Saturation) 1959
William Turnbull (1922–2012)
Oil on canvas
H 178 x W 178 cm
National Galleries of Scotland

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Image credit: Hereford Museum and Art Gallery

Portrait of a Girl in a Red Beret (Marjorie Hatton, 1895–1981) 1905
Brian Hatton (1887–1916)
Oil on canvas
H 75 x W 66 cm
Hereford Museum and Art Gallery

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Exposed Painting, Cadmium Red Deep 1996
Callum Innes (b.1962)
Oil on canvas
H 170.7 x W 163 cm
Government Art Collection

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Lady in a Red Dress 1925
James McBey (1883–1959)
Oil on canvas
H 60.5 x W 49.7 cm
Sheffield Museums

1

Still Life with Red Roses and Other Flowers
Georges van Houten (1888–1964)
Oil on canvas
H 44 x W 25 cm
Examination Schools, University of Oxford

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The Red Shawl 1908
John Duncan Fergusson (1874–1961)
Oil on canvas
H 200 x W 84.8 cm
University of Stirling

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Adrian Heath, was my tutor on my MA at Reading University 1990-92 along side painter Terry Frost who was taught painting by Adrian in a POW camp in 2nd WW.

Composition: Red, Black and Grey 1958
Adrian Heath (1920–1992)
Oil on canvas
H 71 x W 76 cm
Jerwood Collection

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Image credit: Whitby Museum

Red Flowers
Mary Linskill (1840–1891)
Oil on board
H 24.1 x W 15.2 cm
Whitby Museum

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Portrait of a Lady in a Red Scarf 1954
Georges van Houten (1888–1964)
Oil on canvas
H 47 x W 37 cm
Examination Schools, University of Oxford

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Red Roses 1948
Hannes Hammerschmidt (1898–1971)
Oil on board
H 38.1 x W 33 cm
Whitby Museum

33

Geraniums 1937
Thomas Balston (1883–1967)
Oil on canvas
H 40.7 x W 51 cm
Manchester Art Gallery

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Margo Ingham 1951
Ian Grant (1904–1993)
Oil on canvas
H 91.6 x W 70.7 cm
Manchester Art Gallery

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Portrait of a Woman in Red
James McBey (1883–1959)
Oil on canvas
H 55.1 x W 42.1 cm
Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums

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Untitled 2010
Kelly Gray
Oil, emulsion & gloss paint on board
H 200 x W 51 cm
University of Dundee, Duncan of Jordanstone College Collection

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Image credit: National Army Museum

Gunga, a Hindu from Oudh and a Chaprasi (messenger) of No. 22 Astronomical Survey Party (of which Captain Sidney Burrard was in charge) 1894
Gertrude Ellen Burrard (1860–1928)
Oil on canvas
H 59.3 x W 44.2 cm
National Army Museum

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Zero 2 1999
Carol Robertson (b.1955)
Oil on canvas
H 69 x W 69 cm
Government Art Collection

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Image credit: National Galleries of Scotland

Prince Maurice of Orange-Nassau (1567–1625), General and Stadtholder of the Netherlands
Jan Anthonisz. van Ravesteyn (c.1570–1657) (after)
Oil on canvas
H 60.5 x W 47.7 cm
National Galleries of Scotland

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Untitled 1969
Geoff Machin (b.1937)
Emulsion on canvas
H 150.5 x W 210.8 cm
Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre

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No. 7/73 1973
Jeremy Moon (1934–1973)
Oil on canvas
H 98 x W 103.5 cm
National Galleries of Scotland

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Image credit: Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Edmund Kean (1787–1833), as Sir Giles Overreach in 'A New Way to Pay Old Debts' by Philip Massinger 1820
George Clint (1770–1854)
Oil on canvas
H 28 x W 22.9 cm
Paintings Collection

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Yellow and Grey 1962
Michael Kidner (1917–2009)
Oil on canvas on board
H 121 x W 101 cm
Kirklees Museums and Galleries

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Image credit: Royal Academy of Arts

Sketch of a Still Life with Patterned Bowl and Oranges 1920–1930
George Clausen (1852–1944)
Oil on canvas
H 29 x W 36 cm
Royal Academy of Arts

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Exposed Painting, Cadmium Red Pale,Orange 2000
Callum Innes (b.1962)
Oil on canvas
H 92.8 x W 89.6 cm
Government Art Collection

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Image credit: Watts Gallery – Artists' Village

After the Deluge 1885–1886
George Frederic Watts (1817–1904)
Oil on canvas
H 104 x W 178 cm
Watts Gallery – Artists' Village

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Portrait of a Seated Lady in Yellow and Green Reading
Georges van Houten (1888–1964)
Oil on canvas
H 91 x W 73 cm
Examination Schools, University of Oxford

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Daffodils 2005
Michele Elizabeth Field (1953–2014)
Acrylic on canvas
H 76.1 x W 30.6 cm
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

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Image credit: Long Shop Museum

Richard Garrett (1779–1837)
unknown artist
Oil on canvas
H 75 x W 61 cm
Long Shop Museum

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Three Quinces 1964
Eliot Hodgkin (1905–1987)
Tempera on panel
H 25 x W 24 cm
The Hunterian, University of Glasgow

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Girl in a Green Dress 1954
Lucian Freud (1922–2011)
Tempera on board
H 32.5 x W 23.6 cm
Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre

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Late Summer in the Severn Valley
Alastair Frederick Flattely (1922–2009)
Oil on canvas
H 99 x W 150 cm
RWA (Royal West of England Academy)

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Yellow Chrysanthemum 1997
Yasuo Imai (b.1965)
Acrylic on wood panel
H 80.5 x W 60.5 cm
The Aldrich Collection, University of Brighton

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Girl in a Yellow Jumper c.1940–1945
Emmanuel Levy (1900–1986)
Oil on canvas
H 60.5 x W 50 cm
Salford Museum & Art Gallery

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Untitled c.1950–2
Mark Rothko (1903–1970)
Oil on canvas
H 190 x W 101.1 cm
Tate

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Image credit: Kettle's Yard, University of Cambridge

Two Boats with Yellow Sails and Lighthouse
Alfred Wallis (1855–1942)
Oil & graphite on card
H 10.5 x W 17.5 cm
Kettle's Yard, University of Cambridge

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I chose this Craigie Aitchison for my 2011 Whitechapel Gallery coincidently titled Richard of York Gave Battle In Vain.

Alton Peters 1983
Craigie Ronald John Aitchison (1926–2009)
Oil on canvas
H 76 x W 63 cm
Government Art Collection

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The Yellow Parasol 1935
Lotte Laserstein (1898–1993)
Oil on paper
H 58 x W 44 cm
Leicester Museums and Galleries

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Pauline in the Yellow Dress 1944
Herbert James Gunn (1893–1964)
Oil on canvas
H 150 x W 120 cm
Harris Museum, Art Gallery & Library

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'Yellow Bow' 1970s
George Mackie (1920–2020)
Acrylic on board
H 25.5 x W 31.5 cm
Aberdeen Maritime Museum

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Yellow Harmony
George Herbert Buckingham Holland (1901–1987)
Oil on board
H 18.5 x W 25.5 cm
West Northamptonshire Council

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Nice.

Verge 1976
John Hoyland (1934–2011)
Acrylic on canvas
H 190 x W 129.8 cm
The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

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Lady in Green Evening Dress 1921
Georges van Houten (1888–1964)
Oil on canvas
H 73 x W 60 cm
Examination Schools, University of Oxford

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Green Island 1958
Henri Hayden (1883–1970)
Oil on canvas
H 46 x W 55.5 cm
Walker Art Gallery

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This painting by Dan Hays won the 1997 John Moore's painting prize. I was one of the judges so it is great to come across his painting again, it still seems fresh. The exhibition took place at the Walker Art Gallery Liverpool.

Harmony in Green 1997
Dan Hays (b.1966)
Acrylic on canvas
H 171 x W 246 cm
Walker Art Gallery

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Green Tree Form 1940
Graham Vivian Sutherland (1903–1980)
Oil on canvas
H 60.5 x W 54.5 cm
British Council Collection

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Chance and Order 4 (Green) 1970
Kenneth Martin (1905–1984)
Oil on canvas
H 122 x W 122 cm
Government Art Collection

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The Green Roof 1963
Ian Simpson (1933–2011)
Oil on hardboard
H 75.9 x W 91.4 cm
Glasgow Life Museums

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Composition in Pink and Green 1931
Cathleen Mann (1896–1959)
Oil on canvas
H 111.7 x W 82.1 cm
Sheffield Museums

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I love Rose Wylie.

Silent Light 2008
Rose Wylie (b.1934)
Oil on canvas
H 183 x W 336 cm
Jerwood Collection

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Daphne Spencer with a Green Scarf 1953
Stanley Spencer (1891–1959)
Oil on canvas
H 45.5 x W 35.5 cm
Jerwood Collection

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Green and Brown Windbreakers c.1955
Albert Reuss (1889–1975)
Oil on canvas
H 59.7 x W 71 cm
Newlyn Art Gallery

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Image credit: Glasgow Life Museums

I love Vuillard.

Lady in Green 1905
Édouard Vuillard (1868–1940)
Oil on millboard
H 30.2 x W 22.5 cm
Glasgow Life Museums

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Flower Pots in a Greenhouse 1950–1968
John Randall Bratby (1928–1992)
Oil on canvas
H 68.6 x W 48.2 cm
Manchester Art Gallery

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Green Head 1978
Elisabeth Frink (1930–1993)
Pencil & watercolour on paper
H 78.7 x W 55.9 cm
The Ingram Collection of Modern British and Contemporary Art

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This work by David Batchelor was also in my selection of paintings from the original Richard of York Gave Battle In Vain exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery 2011. He has written extensively about colour. Most renown is book Chromophobia.

Shelf-Like No. 5 (Green) 1999
David Batchelor (b.1955)
Acrylic steel & paint
H 40 x W 100 x D 13 cm
Government Art Collection

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Green Apples on a Bamboo Table 1941
Lawrence Gowing (1918–1991)
Oil on canvas
H 21.6 x W 40 cm
Nottingham City Museums & Galleries

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Image credit: British Council Collection

A Dancer in a Green Dress, Marie c.1916
Walter Richard Sickert (1860–1942)
Oil on canvas
H 49.5 x W 39.4 cm
British Council Collection

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Image credit: Leicester Museums and Galleries

love Sickert.

The Yellow Sleeve 1903–1904
Walter Richard Sickert (1860–1942)
Oil on canvas
H 38.5 x W 46.1 cm
Leicester Museums and Galleries

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Salisbury Green 1964
Tess Jaray (b.1937)
Oil on canvas
H 157 x W 128 cm
University of Warwick

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Untitled c.1960–1961
Helen Frankenthaler (1928–2011)
Acrylic on paper
H 58 x W 73 cm
Kettle's Yard, University of Cambridge

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Guild Street No. 3 1983
Alexander 'Sandy' Fraser (1940–2020)
Acrylic on canvas
H 213.4 x W 125 cm
Chelmsford Museums

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Guild Street No. 8
Alexander 'Sandy' Fraser (1940–2020)
Oil on canvas
H 212 x W 212 cm
Grampian Hospitals Art Trust

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Process Painting-Blue Vertical LXXIII(i)-IIIm-26
Eric Cameron (b.1935)
Oil on canvas
H 122.5 x W 122.2 cm
The Stanley & Audrey Burton Gallery, University of Leeds

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Minuet 1966
Tess Jaray (b.1937)
Oil on canvas
H 180 x W 228 cm
Sheffield Museums

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Lady in Blue and White Reading a Letter 1946
Georges van Houten (1888–1964)
Oil on board
H 61 x W 50 cm
Examination Schools, University of Oxford

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The White Hat 1934
Brynhild Parker (1907–1987)
Oil on canvas
H 60.9 x W 50.1 cm
Manchester Art Gallery

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Image credit: National Trust Images

Portrait of a Lady in Blue, Modelled on Queen Henrietta Maria 19th C
Anthony van Dyck (1599–1641) (style of)
Oil on canvas
H 77.5 x W 66 cm
National Trust, Lodge Park and Sherborne Estate

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'I will be good' 2002
Toby Mott (b.1964)
Acrylic on canvas
H 80 x W 30 cm
Victoria and Albert Museum

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Sad self portrait, painted by Victor Willing when he knew he was dying. He was 60 years old and knew he would never make 70.

Self Portrait at 70 1987
Victor Willing (1928–1988)
Oil on canvas
H 56 x W 56 cm
Pallant House Gallery

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Miss Ann Knox
Adrian Maurice Daintrey (1902–1988)
Oil on canvas
H 61.2 x W 51.1 cm
Manchester Art Gallery

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Image credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

Seascape from the 'Umberleigh' 1933–1934
John Everett (1876–1949)
Oil on paper
H 25.5 x W 35.5 cm
National Maritime Museum

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Head of a Child c.1953
Archibald A. McGlashan (1888–1980)
Oil on canvas
H 38.8 x W 43.2 cm
Royal Scottish Academy of Art & Architecture

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Untitled (White Dungarees on Blue Background) 1999
Lucy Jones (b.1955)
Oil on canvas
H 119.4 x W 88.9 cm
Yale Center for British Art

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Image credit: Bridgeman Images

The Blue Blouse (Eléni Zompolides, 1880–1958) c.1910
Harold Gilman (1876–1919)
Oil on canvas
H 60.9 x W 45.7 cm
Leeds Museums and Galleries

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Image credit: Maggie's Dundee

Jessie McTavish 1921
Robert Duddingstone Herdman (1863–1922)
Oil on board
H 30 x W 22.5 cm
Maggie's Dundee

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Lady in a Blue Shirt Tending a Plant 1955
Georges van Houten (1888–1964)
Oil on canvas
H 73 x W 60 cm
Examination Schools, University of Oxford

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Image credit: National Trust for Scotland, Brodie Castle

Still Life with Blue Jug, Fan and an Apple
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell (1883–1937)
Oil on panel
H 35.5 x W 44 cm
National Trust for Scotland, Brodie Castle

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Flat Painting
Geoffrey Teasdale (b.1943)
Oil on canvas
H 182.9 x W 182.9 cm
Leeds Museums and Galleries

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Image credit: The Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate

A lady in distress.

Portrait of a Lady 1838
R. W. Brown
Oil on canvas
H 76 x W 63 cm
The Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate

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Untitled
Olga Barlow
Oil on canvas
H 60 x W 74 cm
Imperial Health Charity Art Collection

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Image credit: Jane Austen’s House

Edward Austen (1767–1852) as a young man c.1783
British (English) School
Oil on canvas
H 73.5 x W 63 cm
Jane Austen’s House

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Lovely Barrie Cook painting, it was also in my selection of paintings for the original Richard of York Gave Battle In Vain exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery in 2011.

No. 2 Untitled 1976
Barrie Cook (1929–2020)
Acrylic on paper
H 114.6 x W 139.4 cm
Government Art Collection

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Blue Pietà 1992
Joanna Price (b.1956)
Oil on canvas
H 183 x W 183 cm
Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre

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Image credit: Manchester Art Gallery

Memories 1926
George James Coates (1869–1930)
Oil on panel
H 50.4 x W 37.9 cm
Manchester Art Gallery

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Aeroplane 1977–1983
Peter Kinley (1926–1988)
Oil on canvas
H 154.3 x W 188 cm
Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre

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Winspit, Dorset 2008
John Bowen (b.1940)
Acrylic on canvas
H 75.5 x W 75 cm
Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

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IKB 79 1959
Yves Klein (1928–1962)
Paint on canvas on wood
H 139.7 x W 119.7 cm
Tate

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Pastoral
Grahame Ashcroft (b.1943)
Oil on board
H 25.4 x W 20.4 cm
Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust

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Gracie Fields (1898–1979) 1998
Keith John Turley (b.1950)
Oil on canvas
H 59 x W 49 cm
Rochdale Arts & Heritage Service

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Landscape, Aix-en-Provence 1937
Matthew Arnold Bracy Smith (1879–1959)
Oil on canvas
H 53.3 x W 81.7 cm
British Council Collection

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White Dahlia in a Blue Jug 1937
Matthew Arnold Bracy Smith (1879–1959)
Oil on canvas
H 81.5 x W 65 cm
British Council Collection

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Guinea Pig 1995
Dan Hays (b.1966)
Oil on canvas
H 16 x W 22 cm
Arts Council Collection, Southbank Centre

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Mountain Series 2001–2002
Nicky Hodge (b.1957)
Oil on board
H 10 x W 12 cm
Lewisham College

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Head 1998
Richard Patterson (b.1963)
Oil on canvas
H 66 x W 66 cm
British Council Collection

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Still Life with Shadow of Kettle 1966
James H. Fairgrieve (b.1944)
Oil on canvas
H 26 x W 36 cm
Edinburgh College of Art (University of Edinburgh)

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Portrait of a Young Girl with a Book
Marie-Louise Roosevelt Pierrepont (1889–1984)
Oil on canvas
H 61 x W 51 cm
The Pierrepont Collection

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Peter Davies
Mike Silva (b.1970)
Oil on canvas
H 76.2 x W 66.2 cm
British Council Collection

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Raincity 2003
Diana Hadden (b.1940)
Oil on canvas
H 153 x W 216 cm
Ulster University

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Principal J. Maxwell Irvine 1996
Alexander 'Sandy' Fraser (1940–2020)
Oil on canvas
H 114 x W 100 cm
University of Aberdeen

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A Group of Polish Pilots 1960s
Patrick Procktor (1936–2003)
Oil on canvas
H 17.5 x W 25 cm
Royal Air Force Museum

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Hilda, née Davenport, Mrs Cuthbert Leicester Warren (1879–1954) 1950
Simon Elwes (1902–1975)
Oil on canvas
H 89 x W 68.6 cm
Tabley House Collection

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I know this painting doesn't fit in my colour coding, but I really wanted to include it. Perhaps it is made by mixing all the colours of the rainbow together?

Head of an Old Man
Mervyn Peake (1911–1968)
Oil on canvas
H 34.3 x W 25.4 cm
Nottingham City Museums & Galleries

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Keith John Turley (b.1950)
Joanna Price (b.1956)
Geoff Machin (b.1937)
Gertrude Ellen Burrard (1860–1928)
Patrick Procktor (1936–2003)
Peter Kinley (1926–1988)
Georges van Houten (1888–1964)
George Clint (1770–1854)
Brian Hatton (1887–1916)
Callum Innes (b.1962)
View all 92

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