Location

Country: UK
City: London
Place: Downing Street

Bridget Riley was born in London. She first studied art history and life drawing at school and later attended Goldsmiths College and the Royal College of Art, London, in the 1950s. In 1965, her work came to international attention following her participation in the acclaimed Op Art exhibition 'The Responsive Eye', at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Riley was the first English contemporary artist, and the first woman, to win the International Prize at the Venice Biennale in 1968 and she went on to exhibit and travel widely around the world during the 1970s and 80s. Her exploration of the relationships between colour, form and her perception of the natural world continue to be central tenets of her work today. In 1995, Riley selected and co-curated a major Mondrian exhibition at the Tate, London. She was appointed a Companion of Honour in 1999. A major retrospective of her work was held at the Tate in 2003, which attracted major public and critical interest. Riley has written extensively about her work, including 'The Eye’s Mind: Bridget Riley: Collected Writings 1965–2009', co-authored with Robert Kudielka. In 2012, Riley was officially awarded the 12th Rubens Prize from the city of Siegen, Germany, an award presented every five years to a painter living in Europe in honour of their lifetime’s artistic accomplishment. In 2016, a yearlong major exhibition celebrating 50 years of painting by Riley opened at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh.

Places

Subjects

abstract

Materials & Techniques

paper (as artists material), gouache (as artists material), gouache (as object name)

Artist

Bridget Riley (1931 - )

Title

First Study for Vapour

Date

1970

Medium

Gouache on paper

Dimensions

height: 114.50 cm, width: 102.00 cm

Acquisition

Purchased from Rowan Gallery, June 1972

Inscription

br: First Study for Vapour Bridget Riley 70

GAC number

9688