We are delighted to share that William Scott’s (1913 – 1989) Ocean (1960) is now on display in the Kettle’s Yard house. The painting belonged to the art historian, teacher and curator Alan Bowness (1928 – 2021) and hung in his home in the room he used as an office. Bowness said:
I sit at my desk looking at ‘Ocean’ every day, and have done so for fifty years. It still remains mysterious to me, a palimpsest of forms and gestures suggesting the residues of a still life. [1]
The painting is a deep blue, divided horizontally into thirds by loose, painterly white lines that suggest the rhythm of waves moving towards the shore. White lines also border the painting, flattening the composition like an unfolded box. Submerged in the shades of blue are squares, rectangles, circles, and triangles. Writing in the catalogue for Scott’s exhibition at the Tate Gallery in 1972, Bowness characterised this category of Scott’s painting as, ‘Evocative Abstractions’. He describes, ‘[t]he shapes are evolved from still life and figure and landscape, but instead of particular associations they seem now to evoke some dream-like memory of ancient times and places.’ [2]
At Kettle’s Yard, the ocean in Scott’s title resonates with those in the paintings of the Cornish artist and mariner Alfred Wallis, displayed nearby. [3] The dark triangle form in the painting echoes the nearby sculpture, Three Personages by Barbara Hepworth (Alan Bowness’ mother-in-law). Compositionally, the white bands of Scott’s painting describe the double height space of the Kettle’s Yard extension, designed by architect Leslie Martin. The loan of this painting to Kettle’s Yard from November 2025 to November 2026 pays tribute to Bowness’s long-standing friendship with Jim Ede. Bowness was a member of the Kettle’s Yard Committee from 1970 to 1999, and during this period provided a critical and trusted role in the transition from Kettle’s Yard as a private residence to a public institution, including the opening of the extension in 1970 and as an advocate for temporary exhibitions as a vital part of Kettle’s Yard’s future.
Jim and Helen Ede gave Alan and Sarah Bowness two works by Henri Gaudier-Brzeska (Vorticist Figure, 1914 and Portrait of a Lady, 1912) as a wedding present, later returned to Kettle’s Yard as a bequest in 2017. Like Ede, Alan Bowness’ art collection reflects a lifetime of friendships with artists, and many of the pieces Bowness acquired, including Scott’s Ocean, were gifts from the artists as thanks for help and advice, and his dedication to sharing and writing about their work.
The painting is on loan from a private collection and is displayed in partnership with the Heong Gallery’s tenth anniversary exhibition, Ten Good Years (Heong Gallery, Downing College, Cambridge, 28 May – 11 October 2026).
About Alan Bowness
Alan Bowness was born in London and read Modern Languages at Downing College (1950–53), followed by post-graduate study at the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London (1953–55). In 1956 he began work at the Arts Council as Regional Art Officer for the South West, which put him into contact with the many artists working with connections to St Ives, including William Scott. Bowness taught at the Courtauld from 1957 and was then Director of Tate Gallery from 1980 to 1988.
Notes
[1] Alan Bowness, Ten Good Years (Cambridge: The Heong Gallery, 2016)
[2] Alan Bowness, William Scott: Paintings Drawings and Gouaches 1938–71 (London: The Tate Gallery, 1972)
[3] Jim Ede traded two Alfred Wallis paintings with Scott for his Still Life with White Mug (1957) and Bowl (White on Grey) (1962). Correspondence from early 1962 reveals that the swap was Scott’s suggestion: ‘I am wondering whether you would care to exchange a painting rather than buy one. […] I have no idea how valuable Wallis is or how we compare in the commercial market, if you are interested in a swap I should like to hear from you.’
