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DESCRIPTION:
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Steven Campbell was one of the most prominent artists to come out of Scotland, and along with Ken Currie, Stephen Conroy, Peter Howson, and Adrian Wisniewski was dubbed a “Glasgow boy” with their roots to the highly selective Glasgow School of Art. Born in Glasgow in 1953, he dropped out of school at 16 to work in steel work engineering before first experimenting in art. He was then accepted to the Glasgow School of Art and emerged as an artist with bold visions and a keen interest in storytelling in his work. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 1982 when he traveled to New York City to study at the Pratt Institute. Campbell’s reputation began to grow while working in New York, and became one of the few British painters to bring his success from the States back to Scotland.
Campbell was known for his immense appreciation and admiration for the Old Masters, often alluding to their work through the stories of his own. His final collection, was exhibited in Glasgow in 2004, illuminated his love of Cézanne, whom he identified with, having never associated himself with contemporary 20th century artists; rather, he preferred to think of his work more akin to the 19th century with a palette of deep, high-contrast hues and vivid tones. Fascinated by movement, he drew aspects of his work from performance art and wove kinetic figures into tales inspired by ancient mythologies and the films of Alfred Hitchcock.
The Quest for the Red Fish (1983) displays his mastery of composition in a large-canvas format, as well as his eye for multi-dimensional color. An undulating emerald sea reaches the moon-patched sky and frames the fishing couple whose dynamic interaction pops from the painting. The eponymous fish leaps from the sea, as its red scales glisten beneath the rocking boat.
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