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We are grateful to Jacqui Ansell, Senior Lecturer Christie’s Education, for her commentary on men’s fashion which has been incorporated into this catalogue note.



This ruminative portrait captures a spirit of artistic camaraderie between two modern British masters. Painted by artist Maurice Feild, this portrait was created at an immensely decisive moment in the life of the revered Anglo-American poet, Wystan Hugh Auden.

Auden’s influence on 20th century poetry is marked; his first book Poems was published in 1930 with the assistance of T.S. Eliot and in 1948 he won the Pulitzer Prize. Before he embarked on this successful career, Auden was admitted to Oxford University, where he soon surrounded himself with likeminded individuals who adhered to Marxist and anti-fascist doctrines; writers such as Stephen Spender, Cecil Day-Lewis, and Louis MacNeice. This group, which became known as the ‘Auden Generation’ or ‘Oxford Group’, represented an experimental literary style and has since been used to categorise a wide range of cultural output throughout the 1930s.[1]
Between the years of 1935 and 1938, Auden’s reputation grew as a highly political, leading left-wing figure in both politics and literature in the 20th century. One of Auden’s most widely anthologized works, Spain - based on his experiences during the horrors of Spain’s civil war - was written and published during the same year as the present portrait. Shortly after this, in part due to the rising political tensions of the period, Auden moved to America. His move caused upset amongst some of the left-wing intellectuals who had supported and venerated him.
This portrait is painted just before his controversial move to America, where his work became less political as he turned back to his childhood Anglican beliefs. Whilst this portrait pays tribute to Auden’s literary success as well as his political angst, it equally evidences the pair’s friendship. Feild’s swift brushstrokes appear to capture a moment of reflection or contemplation on Auden’s behalf; his head bowed and arm flexed casually, characteristically holding the remains of a cigarette in his right hand.

Auden’s stereotypically masculine pose is equally reflected through his clothing. Notions of conformity and equality within male fashion developed exponentially throughout the nineteenth century, in an era that saw men adopt sober and sombre suits and stovepipe hats. As evidenced in this portrait, the suit began to reflect the developing democratization of wealth and trend toward simplification. Although Auden’s full attire in this portrait is not visible, we can ascertain with sartorial confidence that Auden would have been wearing trousers in a fabric type, colour and pattern that matched his jacket - in other words, he is wearing a suit.

Hairstyles equally became more austere and in the twentieth century the ‘short back and sides’ was popularised. Auden sports this fashionably homogenous cut in the present portrait, although he expresses an element of individuality through his neckwear. Whilst a black or white bow tie had long been worn for formal occasions, as a descendant of the masculine cravat, the early twentieth century saw the expansion of decorative and patterned bow ties, worn by men and women.

Maurice Feild studied at the Slade School of Art during the 1920s before beginning his career teaching at The Downs, a Quaker preparatory school in Colwall, Worcester, where he remained until after World War II. During this time, he became good friends with Auden, his contemporary colleague.
As part of the Euston Road School – which was also formed during the same year as this painting - Feild leaned towards representational painting based on observation in an attempt to make art more relatable and relevant for non-specialist audiences. Whilst the likeness in the present work is laudable, the simplicity of design, restricted palette and the expressive strokes towards the lower half of the canvas attest to European modernist tendencies.
Feild’s artistic flair made quite the impression on fellow Euston Road associate, William Coldstream, who offered him a place to teach at the Slade in 1954. Another member of the school who lauded Feild’s work was Sir Lawrence Gowing - protege of Bloomsbury art critic Clive Bell, later trustee of the Tate Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, and the British Museum, member of the Arts Council of Great Britain and later associate of the Royal Academy of Arts – and once applauded Feild as ‘among the unsung influences on British painting’.[2]
Feild’s work is now held in public collections including the National Portrait Gallery, London, and the Government Art Collection.

[1] ‘W. H. Auden; 1907-1973’ Poetry Foundation. Available at: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/w-h-auden (accessed 26/01/2021).

[2] Gowing, L. (1982) quoted in Berthoud, R. The Times, 12th June 1982, p. 12.