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All Tate Reports Tate Report 06/07

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  • William Ratcliffe 1870–1955
  • Hampstead Garden Suburb from Willifield Way, c1914
  • Oil on canvas
  • 510 x 763mm
  • Presented by Tate Members 2006
  • Tate © The estate of William Ratcliffe
  • T12260
  • View work within Tate Collection
William Ratcliffe: Hampstead Garden Suburb from Willifield Way

© The estate of William Ratcliffe

William Ratcliffe was a member of the Camden Town Group, which was dedicated to painting everyday subjects in a reinvigorated version of Post-Impressionism. He lived in Hampstead Garden Suburb in London, then a new development with progressive ideals about modern living. This picture shows the view from the tower of the area's Club House, a centre for its social activities which sought to unify a socially mixed population. Ratcliffe shows the vista down Willifield Way towards Central Square, designed by Edwin Lutyens, and towards Hampstead Heath on the horizon. Willifield Way was where Ratcliffe lived with his brother, so he depicted his own house in the painting. Establishing a vivid colour harmony of mauve, pink, purple and green, Ratcliffe transforms this suburban scene into a resonant Post-Impressionist landscape.

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