E.L.A.S., 1945
Oil on panel. 7½ x 5¾in. (19.5 x 14.5cm.)
Inscribed on the reverse with the artist’s name, the title, 1945 and with the Paul label
Provenance
National Trust bequest.
Exhibited
London, Hampstead Arts Council, 1944, No. 144 as Elas.
Newlyn, Newlyn Art Gallery, 1961, No. 40.
The E.L.A.S. of the title may refer to the People’s Army for National Liberation (Ellinikos Laikos Apelevtheroticos Stratos), a Communist partisan group formed in Nazi occupied Greece in 1942. It was one of a number of military resistance units. Although this identification is speculative, Colquhoun had travelled widely in Greece in 1933 and had maintained contact with Greek friends. The jumble of crosses suggests a reflection on war, conflict and loss.