‘The Yellow Turban’ by David Rolt 1915-1985

David Rolt 1915-1985. The society portrait painter.

Born in Yorkshire in 1915, David Rolt studied at the Slade and was one of the most sought-after English portrait and landscape painters of the 1940s and ’50s. From the early 1940s his landscapes and portraits – characterized by their bold line and use of colour – were being shown at the Royal Academy and New English Art Club.

His work caught the eye of the leading London gallerist Sir Jack Baer, who staged five exhibitions of Rolt’s work at the Hazlitt Gallery between 1949 and 1957, which were followed by international exhibitions.

‘The Yellow Turban’ Portrait of a young lady, (possibly a circus performer) … with a lively background of horses and riders, plus a figure playing a harp!  Oil on canvas 24” x 21.5” (61 x 55), signed and dated 1954.