Sea Poppy II (1968)

Ian Hamilton Finlay

glass

Tate, London, Liverpool and St Ives

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Classification:

Sculpture

Materials:

Glass

Physical Object Description:

Etched (sandblasted) plate glass on wooden plinth

Technique:

Incised

Dimensions:

34.6 x 29.8 x 6.3 cm

Accession Number:

T02409

Credit:

Presented by the Contemporary Art Society, 1979

Scheme:

Historic Purchase by Purchaser (1914-2008)

Ownership history:

Purchased from Wild Hawthorn Press, Carnwath by Gabrielle Keiller (1908-1995) for the Contemporary Art Society with a Scottish Arts Council grant, 1977; presented to Tate, 1979

Relationship:

Gabrielle Muriel Keiller Wild Hawthorn Press, Carnwath Tate, London, Liverpool and St Ives

This concrete art Sea Poppy II (1968), in which names of fishing boats are arranged concentrically, was initially published by Ian Hamilton Finlay's Wild Hawthorn Press as a screenprint. The names and port letters and fishing numbers of boats were obtained from issues of Fishing News, a weekly trade newspaper published in London relating to the sea fishing industry. Sea poppies, a bright yellow horned flower (Glaucium flavum, Fam. Papaveraceae) grow on the sea shores of Great Britain and Europe. Ian Hamilton Finlay also commissioned glass versions of Sea Poppy I and Sea Poppy II from T. and W. Ide, Glasshouse Fields, London E1 in 1968. Each was made in an edition of six; some were of plain glass and others were blue or amber. They are sandblasted glass poems, or concrete poetry, which can be placed on a windowsill, side-lit, and viewed from either side.

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