Jack Coulthard (1930-2016) was a deeply praised but much overlooked British artist whose paintings display a wealth of mythology and research. His later paintings seem composed much in the same manner as The Cantos, crowded with characters each carrying their own complex (to borrow an imagist term), often psychological or mystical. Ezra Pound was a recurring motif for Coulthard throughout his career. In his complete catalogue which details over 800 works, the first being dated 1967-1968, we find,

  4a. Ezra Pound (Screenprint, 1969)
  12. Pound at Pisa (Acrylic, 1970)
  28. Ezra Pound at Rapallo (Drawing, 1971)
  41. Pound at the Temple of Cybele (Acrylic, 1972)
  71. Unwobbling Pivot (Acrylic, 1973)
  80. Pound and Olga Rudge (Acrylic, 1973)
  90. Pound’s Dream (Acrylic, 1974)

This painting, No. 80, depicts an elderly Pound resting his head on Olga Rudge’s bosom, with the Pisan Battistero di San Giovanni in centre, which reoccurs in Coulthard’s 1985 World on a Plate (No. 242), which may be a further study of Pound’s mind at Pisa. The moon, which defines a very fine perspective, reveals a damaged Pound to be sheltering behind Olga, his figure almost lost to the background. The brushwork, especially that of the Battistero, matches the skill and clarity for which Coulthard was renowned. Coulthard paints the first ‘frame’ onto the board, giving the inner composition at 84 x 88 cm. The remainder is a dark grey margin until the metal true frame.
  This is a large painting wanting a significant wall-space. But it is also one scene in a world of Coulthard’s creation; a world in which EP is a predominant figure — the above list is certainly non-exhaustive, e.g. The Victims (2003). The full extent of Coulthard’s creation, and his depictions of Pound, is rife for study.

From the collection at Brook House, Ongar, residence of Gillian Raffles (1930-2021), pioneering gallerist of British post-war art and director of The Mercury Gallery, London and Edinburgh.