Peter Lanyon

Peter Lanyon's attachment to his native landscape of West Penwith is central to an understanding of his work. He commented: 'Many of my paintings are paintings of weather. I like to paint places where solids and fluids come together, such as the meeting of sea and cliff, of wind and rock, of human body and water ..... I wasn't satisfied with the tradition of painting landscape from one position only. I wanted to bring together all my feelings about the landscape, and this meant breaking away from the usual method of representing space in a landscape painting.'

The earthy colours and tall upright format of ‘Bicyclist in Penwith’ are typical of Lanyon's paintings of the early 1950s where there are still recognisable forms in an increasingly abstract composition. These works are informed by Lanyon’s perception of the landscape as he walked, cycled and drove around the countryside.