Abstract painter Roger Hilton (1911-75) is generally considered the bestBritish post-war abstract expressionist. This book the outcome of over fourdecades of research focuses on his drawings and stakes a claim for RogerHilton being the most inventive draughtsman whom Britain has producedsince 1945.Looking at typical Hilton drawing and its qualities, the book includes chaptersdevoted to his childhood drawings and art college works. Theauthor discusses Hiltons Slade days, the 1930s years in Paris and London andthen covers the important resumption of drawing activity after his returnfrom the war. The way in which he resumed figurative drawing in the late1950s in the light of his abstract painting is explored, as is the promotion ofartists drawings by his dealer.This book presents for the first time the serial development of Hilton's imagesand their imaginative transformation, and notes what Hilton drew on fromMatisse, Picasso and, briefly, Klee. It demonstrates his play between theabstract qualities of drawn mark and their figurative implications, and hispersonal existential investment in his drawing practice. His expression ofsexual desire and his spontaneity of drawing practice are put into culturalcontext. The reputation of Hilton as a draughtsman can only grow as his workis revealed.
