Mid-Century Modern Expressionist Still Life of Vibrant Flowers

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Description

On offer is a mid-century modern, Expressionist floral still life painted in oil on canvas board, signed MacKay and dated … Read more On offer is a mid-century modern, Expressionist floral still life painted in oil on canvas board, signed MacKay and dated '64. The painting belongs to the Expressionist/Modernist still life movement popular in the post-war mid-century era.
The composition features a central, geometric, box-like orange container holding a wild, exploding arrangement of warm-toned flowers in oranges, yellows and deep reds. This organic chaos contrasts sharply with the structured grid lines of the vase and the heavily textured background blocks of teal, slate blue, and muted ochre.
In creating this work, the artist used a dense, heavily layered impasto technique, applying the paint thickly, likely with a palette knife and stiff brushes. The fine surface network of splits and cracks is very common for oil paintings from the mid-20th century. It happens naturally over time as layers of thick oil paint dry at different rates and flex under changing humidity.
The back of the piece shows a clean, modern backing board enclosed in a minimalist gold-toned aluminum or metal composite frame. The clean wire hanging system and framing clips are characteristic of mid-to-late 20th-century gallery framing or professional retrofitting.
Signature/Maker’s Mark: Bottom right corner (photos #7-8). Unframed dimensions: See less