Ivon Hitchens

When researching our AW20 collection we kept coming back to the work of Ivon Hitchens, an English painter renowned for his abstract interpretations of the English countryside.

Hitchens started exhibiting during the 1920’s, and became part of the experimental group ‘Seven and Five Society’ alongside, Ben Nicholson, Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth. He was evacuated from London in 1940 during the London bombing, to Sussex where he lived and painted for the next six decades.

- Heti Gervis

Rather than simply trying to accurately depict the scene in front of him his paintings reflected his own personal sensory and physical reaction to what he was what he was looking at. He compared his paintings to music.

Woodpecker Tree, Ivon Hitchens, year unknown.

We were taken with Hitchens’ abundant use colour and bold brush strokes. There is symmetry and balance, a tonal precision that is quite glorious. His use of long rectangular canvases lets you wonder as you would in an actual landscape. The way he places shapes and tones had a major influence whilst designing some of our AW20 collection. Hitchens is a true inspiration, who gives us endless pleasure.

For further reading, online catalogue Art UK have both information and an extension selection of his works, the National Galleries of Scotland have an selection of different work, and London’s National Portrait Gallery have a large selection of photographs featuring the artist.

Remy, an homage to Ivon Hitchens.

110 x 245cm, Modal Cashmere.

MUSE