March 1963

This painting won first prize in the fourth John Moores Painting Prize exhibition (1963). It is typical of the spontaneous and lyrical abstraction which Hilton first developed in the 1950s, characterised by the fusion of interdependent areas of pure colour with freely and gesturally painted lines. At times the latter have overtones of the human form and are often charged with erotic energy; at others they are akin to primitive scribbling. The painting can be viewed as an attempt to convey the overall experience of a passage of time in terms of basic moods and feelings.