Private Collection
Sale, Sotheby's London, 30th April 1986, lot 688
Crane Kalman Gallery, London, where acquired by Lord & Lady Attenborough, 1st May 1986

London, Whitechapel Gallery, Keith Vaughan, March - April 1962, cat. no.181.

Unexamined out of the frame. The work appears to be mounted to the card at all four corners but is not fully laid down. The sheet is slightly cockled and undulates slightly, and there is a very small tear and fold to the extreme lower left corner. There a few traces of extremely minor cracking to the gouache, only visible upon very close inspection. Subject to the above the work is in very good overall condition. The work is held within a simple wood frame with a silver painted slip and a wide linen mount. Please telephone the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

We are grateful to Gerard Hastings, whose new book, Behind the Locked Door: Keith Vaughan's Erotic Work is to be published in the Spring of 2017, by Pagham  Press, for his kind assistance with the cataloguing of the present work. (www.thekeithvaughansociety.com)

Perched on top of a precipitous rock, a fragile-looking, nude male figure peers downwards while holding on for support and reassurance. By balancing him on the bottom edge of the picture plane, Vaughan intensifies the vertiginous effect. He may be a bather or a swimmer or a diver about to launch himself from the rock; whatever the case his nervousness and anxiety is readily communicat🧜ed to the viewer.

Vaughan has empl๊oyed his favourite mixed media here – pen and ink, gouache, wax crayon. As ever,🥂 his use of colour is as economical as it is expressive.

Gerard Hastings.