Cradle of Magic brings together two giants of 20th-century British painting: John Bellany and Alan Davie

Alan Davie (1920-2014) was one of the first British artists to explore abstract expressionist forms and techniques, and his gestural paintings, rich with symbolism, demonstrate an interest in tribal art, as well as Zen Buddhism. John Bellany (1942-2013), over a long and prolific career, came to be considered one of Britain’s foremost figurative painters. His intimate works, often filled with ghoulish, hybridized creatures, balance the uncanny, joyful and violent in powerful and original ways.

The book comes with two different covers–one by each artist–and includes an essay by the acclaimed art historian Mel Gooding exploring the connections between the artists and the themes underpinning their paintings. Also included are two newly transcribed interviews with the artists recorded as part of the Artists’ Lives oral history project at the British Library.