John Bellany, Alan Davie: Cradle of Magic

“Cradle of Magic brings together two giants of twentieth-century British painting: John Bellany (1942 2013) and Alan Davie (1920 2014). Davie was one of the first British artists to explore Abstract Expressionist forms and techniques, and his gestural paintings, rich with symbolism, demonstrate an interest in tribal art, as well as Zen Buddhism. Bellany, over a long and prolific career, came to be considered one of Britain s foremost figurative painters. His intimate works, often filled with ghoulish, hybridised creatures, balance the uncanny, joyful and violent in powerful and original ways. The book comes with two dif ferent covers one for each artist and includes an essay by art historian Mel Gooding exploring the connections between the artists and the themes underpinning their paintings. Also included are two newly transcribed interviews with the artists recorded as part of the Artists Lives oral history project at the British Library “