Prunella Clough

Though widely regarded as an abstract artist in her late career, Prunella Clough always included some figurative elements in her compositions, however subtle, and firmly believed in the intersection between art and everyday life. Her early work was characterized by its limited tonal palette and recurring themes of labor in urban landscapes. In the 1950s, Clough introduced organic plant forms into her compositions and produced her famous paintings of fishermen and dockworkers. Her palette, use of scale, and gesture became looser as her career progressed. Clough studied with the sculptor Henry Moore and, during World War II, she was employed as an engineer’s draughtsman and cartographer.