Gilbert & George (b.1943 & b.1942)

Gilbert & George (b.1943 & b.1942)
Dark Shadow
No 732 of an edition of 2000, signed and numbered by the artists and inscribed For John and Joy/with fond memories of/happy times and/friendly pingo's./love/Gilbert & George/1981
Photographic illustrations, original marbled cloth, gilt, spine gilt, a little rubbed and bumped, 8vo, Art for All, 1974

Together with a photograph of the artists with John and Joy Acton; and David Hockney, Six Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm, a facsimile edition, 64vo approx (3)

Provenance:
The Collection John Acton OBE (1932-2017);
Sold on behalf of the Estate of Mrs J. Acton (Lots 185-193)

LOTS 185-193 - THE COLLECTION OF JOHN ACTON OBE

John Acton OBE (1932-2017), was the British council’s representative to Delhi in the mid to late 1960s. It was there that he and his wife Joy hosted Howard Hodgkin who painted Mrs Acton in Delhi and a portrait of John and Joy Acton entitled The Terrace, Delhi.

From the late 1950s, and throughout the 1960s, he was involved in the London art scene where he was friends with David Hockney, Eduardo Paolozzi, Bernard Cohen and others. Throughout his career with the British Council he welcomed artists to the countries he was posted to, including a visit to São Paulo by Gilbert and George, in the early 1980s. He was made Deputy Controller of the British Council's Art’s Division and Director of the Music Department in 1980.