Houses, Paris By Lilian Colbourn

Lilian Victoria Epworth Colbourn (British, 1897–1967) | ‘Houses, Paris’ 

An exceptional oil on canvas by Lilian Colbourn entitled Houses, Paris. Signed 'COLBOURN' lower left and inscribed verso.

This painting represents a significant departure from Colbourn’s better-known topographical and maritime studies of the North Yorkshire coast. Executed circa 1958, this sophisticated canvas represents an important milestone in her career, demonstrating how seamlessly her celebrated Northern expressionism could adapt to the cosmopolitan subject matter of post-war Europe.

The work reveals a profound synthesis of European Expressionism and British mid-century abstraction. Her sophisticated palette beautifully balances low-key tones with strategic, luminous accents of soft pink and brilliant sky-blue peering through the rooftops. This optical contrast gives the canvas a remarkably dynamic presence, ensuring the steep, claustrophobic verticals of the historic Parisian architecture remain vibrant and alive. The painting functions as a masterful study of space, light, and movement, perfectly encapsulating the critical assessment of her contemporary, the eminent art critic Eric Newton, who identified her style as a uniquely "turbulent vision".

Condition: The painting is in very good original condition. The frame has sustained a crack that runs horizontally on the cream inner section of the frame, this is solid but visible. There are also chips and marks to the frame consistent with age. In our opinion this does not detract and the painting is ready to hang on the wall.

Frame: Height 81.5cm x Width 71cm x Depth 7cm. Picture: Height 56cm x Width 46cm.

Lilian Victoria Epworth Colbourn (British, 1897–1967)

Lilian Colbourn was a fiercely independent voice in mid-century British Expressionism, renowned for her raw, gestural brushwork and heavily textured canvases. Born in Lincolnshire, she went on to study painting at the Bury School of Art under Joseph Knight and later refined her craft under the portraitist Emmanuel Levy. 

Colbourn spent her most celebrated, productive years based out of the storm-battered North Yorkshire fishing village of Staithes. Despite her coastal isolation, her artistic output routinely captured the attention of the London avant-garde; legendary Modern British masters Paul and John Nash were early champions of her work when she exhibited at the Berkeley Galleries. 

In 1947, her painting Fisherwomen, Staithes was selected for the prestigious Paris Salon. Her uncompromising style won her widespread critical acclaim in the 1950s, with the eminent art critic Eric Newton describing her in The Listener (1953) as “passionate, lyrical, utterly sincere – determined to express her turbulent vision with the utmost directness.” During this peak era, her paintings were exhibited alongside major figures of British Modernism, including Barbara Hepworth, Terry Frost, and Henry Moore. Today, her works are highly sought after by collectors re-evaluating the critical contributions of post-war British women artists.