Sullivan’s Field

Lyrical Landscape painter, William Crozier imbued his natural pictures with a highly recognisable sense of momentum. A student at the Glasgow School of Art from 1949 to 1953, he subsequently spent time in Paris and Dublin before eventually settling in London, where his career truly began. He would ultimately move to Cork where he would establish his studio. The region proved to be highly influential and inspiring, and is the most widely explored subject and theme of his corpus. Crozier’s approach to landscape is quite distinctive. His colours are vibrant, contrasting, and overall emotionally charged to the point where one cannot confer a latent romanticism to his work. Moreover, his understanding of line work and momentum are what truly set a section of his work apart. Indeed, Crozier does not subscribe to an academic sense of perspective but conveys directionality, orientation and depth through plunging curves, generally leading the gaze towards the right in an almost spiralling movement. Sullivan’s Field perfectly encapsulates this signature composition. The titled field almost appears to dive into the body of water its outline curved is so conducive of momentum. The water is similarly agitated, its linear layered surface restless. Such line work is in stark contrast with Crozier’s later production (1990s onwards), which is marked by a stiff, flattened and immobile verticality.