Martin Bradley (1931-2023) British. Abstract composition, Oil on board, Signed and Dated 1958. 108cm wide x 69cm high £3900

Martin Bradley exhibited at Gallery one, the Redfern gallery and also the Paisnel gallery in London. He is known for abstract and symbolic artworks, influenced by the calligraphy of China and Japan. .Bradley's works are held in the Tate Gallery collections in London, UK, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, USA. His works have been collected by Dame Barbara Hepworth, Sir Roland Penrose, and Sir Herbert Read.

Born in London in 1931, from childhood Bradley was intent on becoming an artist. As his guardian was against the idea, Bradley ran away to sea when he was fourteen. Whilst working in Central and South American he began painting portrait images of his shipmates before returning to London three years later. Back in London Bradley studied oriental languages, literature and art and developed a life long fascination with the art and calligraphy of China and Japan.

Bradley soon became acquainted with the unconventional circle of artists and writers known as the 'Angry Young Men' and was known as the 'Rimbaud of Soho' due to his hard-drinking lifestyle. Galleries such as Gimpel Fils and the Redfern Gallery began to exhibit his work and in 1956 he joined Gallery One.