Untitled ( Based on Movement in Squares )

1957–1964

Teaching in schools and colleges of art

In 1957–58 she works as an art teacher for children at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Harrow, where she begins a basic design course; later she teaches at the Loughborough School of Art (1959), Hornsey College of Art and Croydon College of Art (1962–64).

autumn 1960

A break-up and the crisis that leads to Op Art

In the autumn of 1960 the relationship ends, and Riley suffers a personal and artistic crisis; the paintings that come out of it lead to her black-and-white Op Art works, such as “Kiss” (1961). She keeps a professional friendship with de Sausmarez until his death in 1969.

summer 1960

Summer in Italy with de Sausmarez

In the summer of 1960 she paints with de Sausmarez in Italy; they visit the Venice Biennale, which is hosting a large exhibition of Futurist art. During this holiday she paints “Pink Landscape,” a pointillist study of the landscape near Radicofani.

1961

A farm in the Vaucluse

With her partner Peter Sedgley she visits the Vaucluse plateau in the South of France and acquires a derelict farm, which they eventually transform into a studio.

spring 1962

First solo show at Gallery One

In the spring of 1962 Victor Musgrave of Gallery One holds her first solo exhibition in London; the black-and-white works are shown in numerous subsequent shows too.

1963–1964

The AICA and John Moores prizes

In 1963 she is awarded the AICA Critics Prize as well as the John Moores Liverpool Open Section Prize, and a year later a Peter Stuyvesant Foundation Travel bursary.