Fred Yates - Two paintings, One Life: The Crowd & Celebration

Art is such a visual expression of the world, and artists imbue their emotions and experiences into the paintings that reach out and connect with you. As you may have read in my previous blogs, British Artist Fred Yates has had a personal impact on my life, both in my youth and as I have grown. His work surrounds me, in my personal and professional life, my question in this blog is: ‘Can we read the changes in Fred’s life, not just in his colour palette, approach and techniques but in the man himself from just two paintings?

Fred finds a peaceful corner in the Rastall garden in Chepstow (Early 1970s)

Fred Yates was a private, sometimes shy person to some extent and whilst he would gladly join in with the Rastall’s lively family get-togethers, he would also happily find a quiet spot in the garden to paint, or pack his car for his next adventure pursuing his day of painting.

Everyone has multiple facets to their personality and Fred’s early life helped form the quiet, reflective Fred characteristics. A strict upbringing at home with his disciplinarian religious parents, the loss of Arthur, his twin brother, in Operation Market Garden at Arnhem in 1944, and a bossy (controlling?) aunt in Worthing that he lived with for a period.

The lighter fun side or more expressive Fred Yates Paintings started to emerge once he threw off the formality of fulltime teaching and left his more rigid early life behind, starting to paint full time from 1969.

The following two paintings ‘The Crowd’ (1973) and ‘Celebration’ (Mid 2000’s) are in our private collection and sit in the same room, creating the platform to view these two uniquely Fred Yates Paintings and reflect on how his painting career and life evolved.

The Crowd - 1973

Well, if it is the Fred Yates early career, sombre moody Northern Art that you are looking for, here it is!

Thick heavy overcoats, Sunday best hats, drab browns, the dogs, urchins and black prams, and all in a restricted colour pallet throughout. However, it is rather well painted, an early Fred Yates painting, you might say. But let’s look at few of the finer details.

Two Little Boys - Fred & Arthur?

Lower right, you will see two little boys hugging or supporting each other and possibly holding their mother’s coat tails for security. It has been suggested that in these early paintings, the two young boys together represent Fred and his brother Arthur. Remembering that this is 29 years after Arthur’s passing, it feels like Fred has yet to relinquish his grief unable to say goodbye to Arthur who was never found. Here, it feels like Fred is still looking after him, keeping him safe & close.

Every person in the painting including the possible mother figure has their back to the viewer, maybe a sign of rejection or refusal to engage (with the artist?).

In stark contrast, within the crowd, many of the people are hugging & holding each other, caring for babies, standing close and showing affection, but not facing the viewer or artist. They seem to say, ‘this is affection, this is what affection looks like, but it is not directed to you, you are not included’. I could be completely wrong, but after living with this painting for 6 or 7 years it does give me that feeling of turning your back on someone, of soulful rejection, but strangely not of sadness or loss in this moment. it feels more matter of fact, like somebody saying, “that was my past”.

Fred Yates Painting - cross hatch detail

To the left of the painting is a section of cross hatching in the original paint that has been over painted. I am sure that Fred was re-using this board and it would be fascinating to know what is under his base ground colour. To the bottom of this cross hatching there is a section of paint that has been used to cover a person so much so that only the feet are left visible.

I think this is a deliberate action to obscure that person under a large quantity of paint. If I am honest, the paint application is a bit too heavy and not in Fred’s usual exuberant hand, more in a deliberate removal “get it covered” way. It could be a mistake or oversight, but it does not feel like that.

The emotion in this painting comes from the crowd. Appearing to be engaged by a show or performance, all looking on in the same direction, but Fred has not allowed us as viewers to take part in this show. Keeping us at a distance, we cannot get close to the action, engage or share in this moment, we are to stay at arm’s length, on the periphery, just outside of the frame.

Does this reflect how Fred felt, pushed out, marginalised? He certainly lived a simplistic, sparce lifestyle, once offering my mother a packing case for a seat in his cold cottage whilst they had tea, as he had just given my father his only chair! In these early formative years he had very little money, he lived on his own, compelled to express, create and paint, and at the beginning period of his career, with a need to become accepted.

Fred Yates: Celebration - (Mid 2000’s)

Celebration is a different Fred Yates painting all together. It is bright, colourful, fluid and more carefree. Spiralling people look like they are circling or floating about, more conceptual or spiritual than the figurative ‘Northern Folk’ in The Crowd.

When we bought this painting at auction the auctioneer said “Wow, that was a real tussle at the end, but you were always going to take that Fred Yates home, weren’t you?” Well, yes, we were. It still creates a feeling of passion and challenge for us to this day.

Fred Yates - Impasto Painting

In this Fred Yates painting, nobody is telling Fred what to do. There is no formal clothing, no rigid upright, ‘on parade’ stances. In fact almost no social ‘expectations’ at all. This feels like Fred has been released, expressive and joyful, maybe from the later freedom he found in his adopted French countryside.

Nearly all the people are looking out, encouraging the viewer to participate in this positive spinning with a sense of euphoria, with the dancers arms outstretched and welcoming. The colours are bright and warm, reflective of much of his later French works. The paintwork is almost excessive, I think Fred used a whole tube of each Red, Yellow and Orange oil paint on just 3 or 4 people. Fred has also painted the ground in thick heavy whites & pinks, with a flash of blue.

Everything evokes excitement, and a real celebration of free movement. Whether you like or dislike this Fred Yates painting; (and it does divide viewers, particularly Fred Yates traditionalists); it is clearly the other end of the spectrum compared to the Crowd from 1973. Fred, this almost too much, but we love it!

Celebration - photographed by Fred’s back door in his Garden in France from the book; C’est Votre Passion Monsieur! by White Lane Press.

Perhaps, Fred was just having some fun, missing from his earlier life?

However, there is control (as there always is with Fred’s painting), careful application of exceptionally thick paint and glistening finishing details. So whilst it could look like a teenager’s party at midnight, it is also very well composed, beautifully painted and it’s humorous.

It is fun & uplifting, far away from the earlier crowd scene, a real celebration of life.

Rastall Art deals in 20th Century Modern British and European paintings and specialises in Fred Yates Paintings.