London, Agnew’s, Modern British 1887-1988 (illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, no. 105);
London, Agnew’s, Modern British Paintings 1880 to the present day, 1986 (illustrated as Halibut in the exhibition catalogue, no. 86);
Woking, The Lightbox, The Ingram Collection: Dreams and Nightmares, 22 May – 15 July 2012;
Hastings, Jerwood Gallery, Century: 100 Modern British Artists, 23 October 2016 – 8 January 2017;
Woking, The Lightbox, Is there still life in Still Life? 15 July – 1 October 2017;
Hull, Ferens Art Gallery, Reflection: British Art in an Age of Change, 17 August 2019 – 5 January 2020
Literature:
Andrew Lambirth, John Armstrong The Paintings, London, 2009 (illustrated, no. 258, p. 181)
This painting with its unusual and out-of-scale juxtaposition is a good example of why John Armstrong is frequently identified as a surrealist. In 1943 he painted three compositions around the central form of a fish, a subject which he had not previously explored. The artist’s brushwork technique at this time shows immaculate, very finely hatched strokes in tempera, a medium which requires a great deal of skill.
