Prunella Clough (English, 1919-1999) 

Biography

Prunella Clough was one of the most accomplished British abstract artists of her generation. Clough studied at the Chelsea School of Art (now Chelsea College of Art) under the instruction of Henry Moore. Her studies were interrupted by the Second World War during which she worked as an engineer’s draughtsman and cartographer.

Prunella Clough returned to painting in 1945 and in 1947 she had her first solo show at Leger Galleries, featuring works depicting post-war labour and the urban landscape. Clough used photographs to capture her subject matter on her many walks around London. Mainly documenting the industrial landscape throughout the 1950s, Clough brought to the fore factory workers, labourers, lorry drivers.

Through the 1960s her subject matter shifted to the more mundane scenes: an intersection, splatter of paint, abandoned sweet wrapper. Alongside photographs Clough used written notes to document the scenes she encountered in painstaking detail. Most important to her process was the memory of the experience of seeing something. Rural landscapes, industrial wastelands and urban environments find balance in Clough’s works, filtered through her memories.

Available works

Please see below the selection of available original artworks by Prunella Clough.