Dancers, 1989

David Remfry RA (b. 1942)

RA Collection: Art

In 1979 David Remfry fell ill with sarcoidosis, a condition affecting the respiratory system which left the artist ‘virtually unable to move’. Unable to make oil paintings, he was, however, able to work in watercolour. That same year a Los Angeles gallery offered him his first solo exhibition in the US - Remfry sent an exhibition of watercolours, all of which were sold.

Remfry continued to make watercolours, often (as in the case of this work) of a substantial size. This watercolour is one of a large series of works depicting dancers started in 1985, which was the subject of a large exhibition at the Boca Raton Museum of Art, Florida, in 2002 which toured to The Butler Institute of American Art, Ohio 2004, the Ferens Art Gallery, Hull and the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge 2005. This work was included in the Boca Raton, Butler and Ferens exhibitions.

Remfry found inspiration in music and dancers from his art school days onwards and gradually moved to making more elaborate paintings sometimes based on sketches made from observation in his studio. His depictions of dancers range from images of ballet dancers to the joyous ‘ordinary’ people seen in works such as this.