Victor Pasmore (British, 1909-1998) Reclining nude Oil on canvas 8 x 12 inches (20.3 x 30.5 cm) Initialed lower right: V.P. PROVENANCE: The artist; Kenneth and Jennifer Ross, gift from the above, 1938; Thence by descent to the present owner. We wish to thank Giulia Privitelli of the Victor Pasmore Gallery, Valletta, Malta, for providing invaluable cataloguing information. Ms. Privitelli points out that that Pasmore executed this painting while teaching at the Euston Road School in London: "The works of the late ‘30s carry exactly the same bright red signature 'V.P.' in the lower right corner. Furthermore there is a painting by Claude Rogers, [another instructor at the Euston Road School], called Reclining Nude (1938), which bears an uncanny resemblance to [the present lot]. It shows how closely Pasmore and Rogers worked. Unfortunately it is hard to identify the models, as both artists blurred the faces." In 1938, Pasmore gave Reclining Nude as a wedding present to Robert Kenneth Ross, a fellow teacher at the Euston Road School, and Jennifer Watson Ross, the school's first enrolled student. HID03101062020 © 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved