In the paddock

1918

Behind the darkness of the cubist period there is probably the delayed mental choc recollecting the war trenches (Beer said so himself). Several friends died in the war, such as the Swedish volunteer artist Ivan Lönnberg in 1918, and Dick’s two brothers Allan and Edward on the British side (the latter, also a gifted painter, was probably shot after an attempted soldier rebellion). Dark colours reflecting dark moods. But dark does not mean gloomy. The oil canvas “In the paddock”, the cubist masterpiece from 1918, contains strong colours, contrasted and aggressive even if the background stays chromatically obscure. That’s his strength, Dick Beer is a colourist even in mourning shades. “In the padock” is perhaps the most significant of Beer’s cubist paintings. This motive with men and horses was the almost exclusive domain of his father, the aquarellist John Beer (1853-1906). Dick was very inspired by horses. He was often seen at the Chantilly races with his friend the Italian painter Gabriele Varese, also a horse specialist.