Get a hand made painting of Desert

Artwork Description

Peter Booth was born in Sheffield, England, in 1940. The son of a steelworker, he was familiar with the industrial landscape of northern England at an early age. He attended the Sheffield College of Art before his family emigrated to Australia in 1958. There, Booth worked as a laborer for several years and then entered the National Gallery School in Melbourne.In the early 1970s, Booth painted hard-edged abstractions of dark rectangles, primarily in black to signify social alienation. By 1977, however, he had begun working in figurative and landscape imagery as well as abstraction, and he continues to explore both directions to this day. In some works, Booth"s landscapes are peopled by strange mutant-like humanoid figures, which interact in violence or walk alone in isolation. In other works, such as Desert, the landscapes are more abstract, filled with recurring forms that resemble elements in some personal code.Booth"s interest in the individual"s potential both to dream and to destroy has been influenced by several earlier movements in art. One is the nineteenth-century European tradition of visionary Romanticism, as exemplified by the work of Francisco Goya and William Blake. Another is Abstract Expressionism, with its gestural handling and its release of forms from the artist"s subconscious.Booth"s subject matter, however, is unique to his own experience. In Desert, as in many of his landscapes, he looks to the prehistoric terrain of the Australian outback. Here he has interpreted its landscape as an uninhabitable territory marked with dead trees, thorn bushes, rocks, and animal skeletons. A lone cross-shaped form rises from the ground near the center of the composition. The environment of Desert appears apocalyptic, as though we are viewing it in the aftermath of some terrible natural or man-made disaster. As in much of his work, Booth has conjured up a mysterious world between the observed and the imagined.

Related Artworks

Artist Biography

The Industrial Crucible and Early Shadows

Born amidst the soot-stained landscapes of Sheffield, England, in 1940, Peter Booth’s early consciousness was forged in the crucible of industrial grit and wartime trauma. As the son of a metallurgy professional, he grew up surrounded by the blackened factories and the lingering scars of aerial bombings that defined his childhood. This environment—a world of decay, disruption, and the heavy presence of history—became the foundational palette for his later explorations of human anxiety.

When his family emigrated to Australia in 1958, Booth carried this sense of industrial melancholy with him, eventually finding his voice through formal training at the National Gallery School in Melbourne. His journey from a laborer to a pivotal figure in late-20th-century Australian art is a testament to a vision deeply rooted in the tension between the observed world and the fractured psyche.

From Geometric Alienation to Visionary Surrealism

Booth’s artistic evolution is marked by a profound shift from the starkly minimal to the hauntingly complex. In the early 1970s, his work was defined by hard-edged abstractions—dark, imposing rectangles of black that served as visceral symbols of social alienation and isolation. However, the artist could not remain confined within geometric boundaries. Drawing inspiration from the visionary Romanticism of Francisco Goya and William Blake, he began to weave figurative elements into his compositions, creating a bridge between the abstract and the surreal.

This transition allowed him to explore the psychological intensity of the subconscious, utilizing the gestural energy of Abstract Expressionism to breathe life into nightmare-like imagery. His work became a site where the release of form met the weight of existential dread, transforming the canvas into a window for the viewer's own deepest fears and most unsettling dreams.

The Apocalyptic Dreamscape

In his mature period, Booth turned his gaze toward the Australian landscape, yet he did not see it as a pastoral sanctuary. Instead, he reimagined the outback as an uninhabitable, apocalyptic territory—a prehistoric terrain populated by mutation and decay. His landscapes are often characterized by:

The presence of strange, humanoid figures that interact with sudden violence or wander in profound isolation.
A recurring use of dead trees, thorn bushes, and animal skeletons to evoke a sense of post-disaster stillness.
An atmosphere of cosmic anxiety, where the environment feels as though it is caught in the aftermath of a great catastrophe.

In masterpieces such as Desert, Booth utilizes recurring forms and personal codes to construct a world that exists between the real and the imagined. His ability to conjure up these mysterious, often terrifying dreamscapes ensures his historical significance, marking him as an artist who masterfully captured the anxieties of the modern age through the lens of a haunting, surrealist vision.

Peter Booth

1940 - , United Kingdom

Quick Facts

Artistic Movement Or Style: Figurative Surrealism
Artists Or Movements Influenced By This Artist: ['Abstract Expressionism']
Artists Who Influenced This Artist:
- William Blake
- Francisco Goya
- James Ensor
Date Of Birth: November 2, 1940
Full Name: Peter Booth
Nationality: Australian
Notable Artworks:
- Desert
- Painting 1978
Place Of Birth: Sheffield, England

Peter Booth: The Full Collection

Explore artworks organized by themes, styles, and characteristics.

Popular

Desert

Collectible Description

Artist Biography

Hand Made Oil Reproduction

Reproduction Frame

White $1

Blurside $1

Extended $1

P118B $10

P118H $10

P118W $10

P438Z $10

P508JH $12

P508YH $12

P805H $10

P805Z $10

P919BZ $10

P919G $10

P919XJ $10

P959ZH $10

P968JZ $12

W106C $8

W218G $10

W218JH $8

W218Y $10

W307PJ $10

W316G $10

W316PJ $8

W316Y $10

W398PJ $8

W4111J $10

W500HY $15

W500JH $15

W692G $12

W849H $8

W940BG $15

W953PJ $8

H24-GOLD $30

H24-SILVER $30

H36-GOLD $45

H36-SILVER $45

Framed

Reproduction Size

Artwork Customization

Artist Skill Level

Nameplate

Engraved Bronze Plaque Details

Transparent Acrylic Plaque Details

Black Acrylic Plaque Details

Protective Varnish

Urgent Production

Included Benefits

Free Worldwide Express Shipping

High-Quality Linen Canvas

Full Shipping Insurance

Customs Tax Refund Guarantee

True Color Matching Guarantee

60-Day Return Policy (Defects Only)

100% Money-Back Guarantee

Bulk Discount Offer

Total Price

$ 258

Summary

Reproduction Medium

-

Elite Senior Artist

-

Reproduction Frame

-

Nameplate

-

Protective Varnish

-

Customize My Artwork

-

Urgent

-

Express Shipping

Included

Total Price