Charles Higgins / Pic, Überraschung (Surprise), 1964, Oil on Paper Laid on Card, Framed

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Charles higgins (‘pic’)
(1893 belgrano, argentina – 1980 london)
“überraschung (surprise)”, 1964
oil on paper laid on card
signed ‘pic’ … Read more Charles higgins (‘pic’)
(1893 belgrano, argentina – 1980 london)
“überraschung (surprise)”, 1964
oil on paper laid on card
signed ‘pic’ bottom right; signed, dated and titled in ink verso
220 × 105 mm | 8 5/8 × 4 1/8 in
320 × 210 mm | 12 1/2 × 8 1/4 in (framed size)

a tiny painting i can’t stop looking at.
bits i like best (top to bottom):
the black blots that are a mountain range, a forest, the far-off … the oily halo around the mother’s head and hands … her profile (three dots of black, near-identical but unmistakably differentiated into eyelid, nostril, lip) … the wormcast of white lace at her sleeve (maybe my favourite bit of all) … the child’s hair and clothing made, in one continuous gesture, of the same diaphanous stuff … the placement of the dots composing her curious-georgian expression precisely defining an up-tilt and left-turn of the head towards (and delight at) whatever the offstage surprise of the title might be … the clouds of blackberry-juice stain that embroider the hem of the mother’s gown … the eager step forward of her clumpy, elegant green shoe …
i will miss having it around.

‘pic’ was the pseudonym of charles higgins. He was born in argentina of scottish parents. Having been wounded at gallipoli, he returned to south america in 1919 to work as a construction engineer. Returning to britain in the 1920s to devote his life to painting, he built a cottage on the island of barra in the outer hebrides and dived his time between there and his studio in st johns wood, london. He married kate elisabeth olver the portrait painter in 1927.

in 1947 pic’s work was shown in the first of many exhibitions at the gimpel fils gallery in mayfair, with frames by robert sielle. Artist and critic maurice collis (some of whose works are also available here) wrote in the catalogue: ‘those who like some sort of a peg upon which to hang a classification may summon the name of chagall to give a hint of pic’s poetical content , though his paintings do not resemble chagall’s. Nevertheless, his mood is of that sort and he depicts a state of mind that is shadowy, haunted, dream-led and fantastic. Sometimes he achieves his effects by the help of the fortuitous surface, shape and peculiarity of the wood upon which he paints…\. The paint, extremely accomplished, surges under his hand; the colour has a fiery crackle; and there is a sombre fire in the mood. These, i submit, are extraordinary paintings which could hold their own in the most forceful company.’

collis noted that prior to 1947 pic’s paintings had only attracted the interest of ‘connoisseurs…. There are, thank god, a few people who know a good picture when they see it and who buy it without any assurance from third parties’.


please note: visualisations of works hung in interiors are simulated and may not precisely represent either how the work is framed or its scale. This piece has an attribution mark,
i am sure that it is completely authentic and take full responsibility for any authenticity
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