89 year-old Basil King has known and worked with some of the greatest names in American art. In this episode, he talks about his life in the east end of London before his family emigrated to the US when he was 11, enrolling at the legendary Black Mountain College as a teenager, meeting Elaine and Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline, Jackson Pollock and Robert Creeley, working with Adolph Gottlieb, Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman in New York City, how his writing poetry accelerated after his first trip back to the UK, his painting themes and his heroes from art history.
Basil King talking with Bob Chaundy
Accompanying images on consideringart.com
Robert Creeley, 1998
Throwing the Moon, Tom Seaver, 1984
From the series Stravinsky/Nijinsky, 1983
All images are © Basil King
You can see more of Basil’s work on his website
Music: Ibiza by MBB | https://soundcloud.com/mbbofficial