Bridget Louise Riley (b.1931)
November 16, Bassacs
Signed and dated, lower right: Bridget Riley/’87; titled, lower left: November 16./BassacsGouache and pencil on paper
7 x 10 in – 18 x 25.4 cm
Provenance:
Mayor Rowan Gallery, London;
David Grob Fine Art, London;
Private collection, UK
Artist Biography :
Although Bridget Riley was born in London, she spent much of her childhood in Cornwall and Lincolnshire. Her
father, John Riley, was a printer by trade and relocated the business to Lincolnshire when she was young. However,
on the outbreak of War her father was drafted into the armed forces and Bridget, her sister and mother were all sent
to Cornwall to avoid the dangers of war. The light, sky and landscape of Cornwall were to have an everlasting effect
on her.
Riley had artistic yearnings from a young age and after her initial education at Cheltenham Ladies College, she
went on to attend both Goldsmiths and the Royal College of Art. Riley found the direction she received at college
confusing and her work remained figurative throughout her time there. Following college, Riley moved back to
Lincolnshire to nurse her ill father, after which she spent time recuperating back in Cornwall.
In 1956, Riley visited the Tate Gallery where she saw an exhibition that was to change her direction entirely; it was
the American Abstract Expressionist Painters Show and it was the first of its kind in Britain. The following year she
took a teaching position in Harrow and then at Loughborough School of Art; by 1958 she was employed as a
commercial illustrator.
In the summer of 1960, Riley travelled to Italy where she was inspired by the art and architecture that surrounded
her, including works by the Italian Futurists. Upon her return she continued her work as an illustrator and took a part
time teaching position at Croydon School of Art. It was during this period that she began experimenting with black
and white geometric shapes, optical illusion and shifts in perception.
Riley held her first solo exhibition at the One Gallery in 1962. This was soon followed by an invitation to exhibit at the
ground-breaking ‘New Generation’ show at the Whitechapel Gallery, alongside David Hockney (b.1937) and Allen
Jones (b.1937). Riley’s popularity was widespread and the Museum of Modern Art, New York, included her work
accompanied by Victor Vasarely’s (1906-1997) in their 1965 show, ‘The Responsive Eye’. The exhibition was
extremely successful and propelled Riley into artistic stardom. It was about this time when the term ‘Op Art’ (optical
art) was first coined in a Time magazine review in New York. This popular imagery has become intrinsically
associated with the 1960’s and comparisons can be found in almost everything from the period, including
wallpaper, rugs, shirts, ties and shoes.
The artist’s work has progressed throughout the years to encompass various colours and shapes, many of which
are concerned not only with optical effects but also light and space. Riley still continues to paint and exhibits
internationally.
Her works can be found in museums in: London, Tate Gallery; Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust; Amsterdam,
Stedelijk Museum; Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen; Nürnberg, Neues Museum; Boston, Museum of
Fine Arts; Los Angeles, The Museum of Contemporary Art; Minneapolis, Stedelijk Museum; New York, The
Museum of Modern Art; Canberra, National Gallery of Australia; Kitasaku, Sezon Museum of Modern Art and Tokyo,
The National Museum of Modern Art.