LOT 27
KHALIL IBRAHIM
B. Kelantan, 1934 – 2018
East Coast Ladies, 1980
Signed “80 Khalil Ibrahim” on lower right
Etching on paper, Artist Proof
9.5 x 9 cm
Private Collection, Kuala Lumpur
RM 1,200 – RM 3,800
The multifaceted master, Khalil Ibrahim had a penchant for human figures and depictions of the East Coast. This is evident in this work entitled ‘East Coast Ladies’, featuring three ladies clad in traditional outfits with their hair half tied up and by the sea. Two of the ladies at the back seem like they’re conversing with each other while the middle figure is etched as if she is looking right at the painter. It’s an alluring etching on paper.
Khalil was sponsored by the Pahang state government to continue his studies at the prestigious Central St. Martin’s School of Art and Design in London and in the same year, the infamous art critic Clement Greenberg visited London and Cornwall, to check out contemporary works of art. The next year, British pop artist Peter Blake joined St. Martin’s and lectured in the school at the same time Khalil was studying there. David Hockney used to drop by to give the budding art students lectures, and Khalil attended some of those sessions. During his stint there, he continued to study English in evening classes and met the woman who was to be his future wife, Judith Hürzeler in 1963.