Post-war Oil Painting Sporting Expressionism: Cocks Fighting c.1965 A Tribute to Leon Kossoff

Post-War British Sporting Expressionism: “Cocks Fighting” (c.1965) by B.K. Gallie — A Tribute to Leon Kossoff Overview A compelling example of mid-20th-century British Expressionism, Cocks Fighting (circa 1965) by B.K. Gallie of Gloucestershire is a vivid study in motion, energy, and emotion. Two roosters collide in a flurry of feathers and colour — an enduring symbol of rivalry and vitality. Executed in thick, sculptural oil on Dalex board, the work embodies the physical and emotional intensity characteristic of the post-war School of London. Gallie’s vigorous handling of paint, with its dense impasto and tactile surface, reveals a profound engagement with the expressive possibilities of the medium, recalling the visual language of Leon Kossoff and Frank Auerbach. Technique and Composition Gallie approaches painting as a physical act. The impasto is applied with palette knife and brush, built up into ridges and grooves that catch and scatter light. Form is defined less by line than by gesture; anatomy gives way to movement and feeling. A limited, earthy palette — cool greys offset by flashes of red and yellow — intensifies the sense of conflict. The brushwork is restless, almost violent, reflecting the tension of the subject itself. The result is an image that hovers between figuration and abstraction, embodying the raw immediacy of Expressionism. Artistic Context Leon Kossoff (1926–2019) was among the leading figures of post-war British art and a founding voice of the School of London. His practice explored the tension between perception and emotion, using thickly worked paint surfaces to express the pulse of lived experience. Gallie’s Cocks Fighting clearly channels this sensibility. Like Kossoff, he transforms the act of painting into a parallel for the subject’s vitality — the struggle between the two birds becomes an allegory for the struggle within the paint itself. Signature and Label While unsigned, the work bears the artist’s printed address label on the reverse: “B.K. Gallie, Honeysuckle Cottage, Uley, Dursley, Glos.” This original label confirms authorship and origin, along with the early pre-decimal price of £8 8s, firmly dating the work to the early–mid 1960s. Frame Presented in a Larson-Juhl gilt moulded frame fitted with museum-quality AR70 protective glass, which enhances and preserves the painting’s textured surface. Framed dimensions: 58.5 cm (H) × 68 cm (W) × 2.5 cm (D) Provenance Artist’s own address label verso (Uley, Gloucestershire) Painted on Dalex artist board manufactured by Daler Mountboards, Wareham, Dorset Acquired from a reputable art dealer in the Eastern Shires Curated by Cheshire Antiques Consultant Ltd, specialists in British modernist art Exhibited at the Lord Hill Museum, in the exhibition Post-War British Expressionism Subsequently held in a private Gloucestershire collection This clear and traceable provenance connects the work to its maker, its regional artistic context, and its exhibition history — strengthening both authenticity and historical importance. Significance Cocks Fighting exemplifies the expressive power and tactile immediacy of the British post-war movement. Gallie’s use of impasto transforms oil paint into a sculptural substance, evoking emotion through rhythm and resistance. The work stands as both a personal statement and a reflection of the broader mid-century British pursuit: to capture the human condition not through precision, but through feeling and form. For Purchasing information please contact Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD.