Roger Hilton's Final Gouache and Pencil Drawings from 1973-74 Exhibited in New York

Flowers gallery in New York presented an exhibition of Roger Hilton's works on paper from February 20 to March 27, 2004. The show featured gouache and pencil drawings created in 1973-74, when the British artist was bedridden and suffering from alcoholism-induced peripheral neuritis. Hilton, a key figure in Britain's post-war avant-garde alongside Ben Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth, and Terry Frost, was recognized for his non-figurative approach by critic Lawrence Alloway in 1954. Despite his physical decline, Hilton produced three to five gouaches daily during his final years, selling them successfully. The drawings, executed largely with his non-dominant right hand due to his condition, display a playful, childlike quality while exploring abstract shapes, the female form, and imaginary creatures. Hilton's existentialist mindset and rejection of representation aligned with his belief in art as a daily necessity, comparing it to a bodily function. He aimed to 'humanize Mondrian' through his love of mark-making, balancing compositions with ease after decades of practice. The works demonstrate his sensitivity to line and pressure, with some suggesting landscapes or anthropomorphic forms. Hilton died in 1975, a year after creating these final pieces, which he described in a letter detailing his deteriorating health and loss of vitality.