Rosemary Rutherford (1912–1972), Christ Crowned With Thorns, Mid-Century Oil

A powerful mid-century study of Christ crowned with thorns by British painter and stained-glass artist Rosemary Ellen Rutherford (1912–1972), signed Rutherford lower left.
The face fills almost the entire composition, rendered in graduated blue-greens, ochre and gold. Chalk-white thorns cut sharply across the forehead, punctuated by flashes of blood red. Heavy outlines and flattened planes of colour give the work an almost architectural quality — closer in places to stained glass than conventional portraiture.
That connection is particularly compelling in Rutherford's work. Best known today for her ecclesiastical stained glass, she brings something of the same visual language to this painting: dark, lead-like contours, strongly delineated areas of colour and an economy of form that gives the downcast face considerable gravity.
The painting is presented in a period gilt moulded frame with a red inner slip, particularly sympathetic to its palette.
About the artist
Rosemary Rutherford studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in the 1930s and later with Cedric Morris at Benton End. During the Second World War she served with the Red Cross as a VAD while also recording aspects of wartime life as an artist.
She subsequently became particularly associated with stained glass and ecclesiastical work. Her windows survive in churches including Boxford, Walsham le Willows and Hinderclay in Suffolk, as well as churches in Essex and Yorkshire.
Condition
Good original condition commensurate with age. There is a small chip to the frame. Please refer to the photographs for full condition details.