David Jones, 
British 1895-1974 - 

The Little Wood, c.1940; 

watercolour and pencil on paper, signed lower right 'David Jones', 47.8 x 60 cm (ARR) 

Provenance: 
The Redfern Gallery, London (partial label attached to the reverse of the frame); 
Dr. Stella Churchill, purchased on the 12th January 1940 (according to the label attached to the reverse of the frame); 
the Descendants of Sidney and Stella Churchill (1862-1921 and 1883-1954) and Ruth Plant (1912-1988) 

Exhibited: 
The Redfern Gallery, London, 'Watercolours by David Jones', 4th January - 27th January 1940, cat. no.14 

Note: 
the present work was purchased from the exhibition 'Watercolours by David Jones' at the Redfern Gallery, 4th -27th January 1940 and Stella Churchill also owned other works by Jones, 'Cattle' and 'Kitchen, Table and Window'. This was an important exhibition for the artist, following a period of psychological turmoil in the 1930s, but it was successfully received with the Tate Gallery purchasing 'The Chapel in the Park' for its collection. There were also highly positive reviews with The Times calling him 'one of the most original of contemporary English artists'. 

The present work has the same painterly approach as 'The Chapel in the Park' to the use of watercolour, Jones carefully building up the forest scene in glazes of warm greens, blues and reds. Jones uses the translucence of the medium to evoke a sense of ethereality and his spiritual  wonder at the woodland landscape. Jones has developed the faux-naïve style of artists such as Ben and Winifred Nicholson and Christopher Wood in the 1930s, to create a unique sense of joy that permeates his view of the British landscape. 

Jones is now considered one of the most important figures in British 20th century cultural history, celebrated as much for his painting as for his epic poems, 'In Parenthesis, 1937', based on his experiences during the First World War and 'The Anathemata, 1952'. Much like his paintings, these combine a modernist technique with a focus on religion and British myth and folklore. His works were acclaimed by figures including T. S. Eliot and W. H. Auden.