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Dimensions: measurements 33 by 42 1/2 in. alternate measurements 83.8 by 108 cm.

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Provenance: Baldwin Gallery, Aspen

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Exhibited: Aspen, Baldwin Gallery, Malcolm Morley, Africa: Watercolors, July - August, 1997

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Notes: Executed in 1997.
In 1997, Morley travelled by cargo boat along the coast of South Africa. His aim was to experience this romantic form of travel, of which he had a lifelong fascination, and to explore material for a new body of work. In Muizenberg, a beach resort near Cape Town, he was fascinated by the old-fashioned beach huts there (known locally as bathing booths); this canvas (one of only two oils he created of this subject) is the result. As in many of Morley's paintings, including Mariner (Tate Gallery, fig. 1) Morley included in this composition a red and white plane, skydiving above the sea. The airplane is a recurring motif: inspired by the models he had first made as a youth and continued to fashion during his career to use as source material, often actually stuck on to canvases. Afterwards the planes (and boats and trains) would feature in compositions drawn from his frequent, extensive travel adventures to symbolize the means by which he reached these exotic destinations. The 'Red Baron' plane, eblazoned with its bright red patterning, sweeps across numerous autobiographical references, real and virtual.