The story of how one of the UK\u2019s great abstract painters was inspired by ordinariness \u2013 and the extraordinary meeting he had with an American artistic giant \u2013 is being told in a new exhibition in the West Country.<\/p>\n
Three large-scale paintings by William Scott (1913 \u20131989) have been loaned to the Museum of Somerset in Taunton,<\/a> not far from the artist\u2019s home and studio in the countryside south of Bath.<\/p>\n Visitors will also learn about a trip the American artist Mark Rothko<\/a> made to Scott\u2019s home in 1959, during which they discussed murals they were working on for a restaurant in New York and a hospital in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n The exhibition\u2019s curator, Tim Martin<\/a>, said it was a good chance to see Scott paintings loaned by the Tate in a place that meant so much to him and to think about the visit of an American icon to the West Country.<\/p>\n \u201cThe three works were painted at the height of Scott\u2019s career in the late 1950s, when he was very confident in what he was doing,\u201d said Martin.<\/p>\n William Scott (left) and Mark\u00a0Rothko in Somerset in 1959. Photograph: James Scott<\/p>\n One of the paintings being loaned to Somerset \u2013 Ochre Still Life \u2013 features pots and pans, while another, Black Painting<\/a>, might be an abstract representation of stone walls.<\/p>\n The exhibition is called Beauty in Plainness \u2013 William Scott in Somerset<\/a>. The title comes from Scott\u2019s assertion: \u201cI find beauty in plainness.\u201d<\/p>\n Scott met Rothko in New York in the early 1950s. Martin said: \u201cHe was shocked at the kind of size and the scope of some of the abstract expressionist works being produced in New York. Scott and Rothko got on really well and in 1959 Rothko travelled to Somerset<\/a> and stayed with the Scotts.\u201d<\/p>\n The artists are known to have discussed murals. Scott was working on a large mural for the entrance hall of Altnagelvin area hospital <\/a>in Derry, Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n When the abstract piece was finally unveiled at the hospital, before a large invited audience, the response was said to be horrified silence.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Your weekly art world round-up, sketching out all the biggest stories, scandals and exhibitions<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n