Agdistis IV, 1964

with Paul Rosenberg & Co, New York; 1988

London, RCA, A Perfect Place to Grow, 16 November 2012 – 3 January 2013;
Woking, The Lightbox, The Road to Abstraction, 21 May – 24 July 2016;
Hastings, Jerwood Gallery, Century: 100 Modern British Artists, 23 October 2016 – 8 January 2017;
Oxford, Brasenose College, 1 October 2019 – 30 September 2020

This series of work reflects Donald Hamilton Fraser’s interest in Greek Mythology. This particular piece references the deity Agdistis from Greek, Roman, and Anatolian mythology. The androgyny of this superhuman being symbolised a wild and uncontrollable nature, and threatened the gods, leading to ultimate castration and destruction. Fraser used an expressionist technique to accomplish his paintings. He applied thick layers of bright paint to his semi-abstract landscapes. Fraser had an unconventional approach to mixing his colours. He would mix his colours directly onto pages of an old telephone directory, discarding the pages as he moved on to the next colour.