Expressionist Sporting Painting |Cocks Fighting (c.1965) — After Leon Kossoff
Cocks Fighting by B.K. Gallie, Circa 1965 — British Expressionist Oil Painting
A Dramatic Heavy-Impasto Animal Study in the Manner of Leon Kossoff
Highlights
• Characterful British Expressionist oil painting from the mid-20th century.
• Depicts two cockerels engaged in a dramatic and energetic confrontation.
• Thick, sculptural impasto gives the painted surface remarkable physical depth.
• Bold crimson and yellow accents emerge against an atmospheric grey ground.
• Executed on Daler Board for Oils, a recognised British-made artist’s support.
• Printed B.K. Gallie address label retained on the reverse.
• Label records the artist’s address at Honeysuckle Cottage, Uley, Gloucestershire.
• Original price of £8 8s survives in pre-decimal currency.
• Catalogued through stylistic comparison with post-war British Expressionism and the painterly language of Leon Kossoff.
• Documented private, dealer and exhibition history.
• Presented in a Larson-Juhl gilt frame with low-reflection AR70 glazing.
A Visceral Mid-Century British Painting
Cocks Fighting is a compelling British School oil painting by B.K. Gallie, created during approximately the middle of the 1960s.
Two cockerels collide in an animated display of instinct, rivalry and movement. Their forms are carried by vigorous brushwork and deeply built oil paint rather than precise descriptive detail, giving the composition an immediacy that feels both spontaneous and carefully controlled.
The subject offered Gallie an ideal vehicle through which to explore tension and rhythm. Plumage becomes gesture, wings dissolve into sweeping passages of colour and the birds’ brilliant combs provide flashes of concentrated red against a quieter, cool-grey setting.
Artwork Information
Artist: B.K. Gallie
Title: Cocks Fighting
Date: Circa 1965
Origin: Gloucestershire, England
Classification: British School
Style: Post-war Expressionist
Medium: Oil on board
Board: Daler Board for Oils, handmade at Wareham, England
Signature: No visible signature
Verso: Printed artist’s address label and original pre-decimal price
Attribution terminology: In the manner of Leon Kossoff
Movement, Colour and Form
Gallie arranges the birds within a compact, almost compressed space. The absence of a conventionally described landscape concentrates attention on their physical encounter.
A restrained background of grey and muted neutral tones makes the warmer colours appear particularly vivid. Crimson combs, ochre feathers and areas of pale plumage flash through the darker passages, carrying the viewer’s eye around the circular movement of the composition.
Although the subject is recognisable, the handling approaches abstraction. Individual anatomical details become secondary to the sensation of impact, agitation and competing movement.
Heavy Impasto Technique
The painting possesses a pronounced and highly tactile oil surface.
Paint has been layered, dragged and worked into raised ridges, producing a relief-like quality that changes according to the direction of the light. Some passages appear broadly swept across the board, while others have been compressed into concentrated marks defining feathers, wings and heads.
The resulting surface is central to the character of the work. It conveys both the physical intensity of the subject and the artist’s direct engagement with the material qualities of oil paint.
B.K. Gallie and the Gloucestershire Label
Little published biographical documentation has presently been located for B.K. Gallie. The most important identifying evidence is the printed address label attached to the reverse:
“B.K. Gallie
Honeysuckle Cottage
Uley, Dursley, Glos.”
The original pre-decimal price of £8 8s also remains present. While the painting itself is unsigned, these surviving details provide valuable evidence of its association with Gallie and its Gloucestershire origin.
The approximate date of circa 1965 is based upon the label, period artist’s board and stylistic character of the work.
In the Manner of Leon Kossoff
The phrase “in the manner of Leon Kossoff” is used as a stylistic description.
Gallie’s deeply worked paint, compressed forms and urgent gestural rhythm invite comparison with the physical painting techniques associated with Kossoff and other post-war British figurative artists.
No documentary connection between Gallie and Kossoff has been established. The work is not attributed to Kossoff and is not known to have been copied from a particular composition by him.
Presentation
The painting has been recently placed within a Larson-Juhl gilt moulded frame selected to complement its vigorous mid-century aesthetic.
AR70 anti-reflective glazing provides excellent visual clarity, reflections below approximately 1% and around 70% UV protection. The framed work is ready to hang.
Framed Dimensions
Height: 58.5 cm
Width: 68 cm
Depth: 2.5 cm
Provenance and Exhibition History
B.K. Gallie address label attached verso, recording Honeysuckle Cottage, Uley, Gloucestershire.
Original price of £8 8s retained in pre-decimal currency.
Acquired through an established Eastern Shires art dealer.
Professionally researched and catalogued by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®.
Privately loaned and exhibited at the Famous Lord Hill Museum as part of a survey of post-war British Expressionism.
Private Gloucestershire collection.
Why Collect This Painting
• A distinctive example of regional British post-war painting.
• An unusually physical and expressive treatment of an animal subject.
• Rich impasto creates a changing sculptural surface under different lighting.
• Strong decorative impact without sacrificing painterly character.
• Period artist’s label and Daler support offer valuable contextual evidence.
• Suitable for modernist, eclectic, country-house or contemporary interiors.
• An engaging focal point for collectors of British Expressionism and animal painting.
Condition
The painting remains in good vintage condition.
The heavily applied paint appears stable and retains its strong sculptural character. Minor surface wear and areas of fine craquelure are present, consistent with age, materials and the impasto technique.
The Larson-Juhl frame remains secure and display-ready, with minor unobtrusive scuffs. The listing photographs should be inspected carefully as part of the condition assessment.
Shipping
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Attribution and Research Notice
The historical observations, provenance research, attribution analysis and contextual commentary presented within this catalogue entry represent the professional opinion of Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®. They are offered in good faith as informed scholarly assessments based upon the available evidence, comparative research, published reference material and our experience within the international fine art market.
These observations should be understood as professional opinions rather than definitive statements of fact or guarantees of authorship, attribution, date, origin, provenance or historical interpretation. As with all historic works of art, future documentary discoveries, technical examination, conservation analysis or advances in academic research may refine, expand or revise current interpretations.
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