Following Frost’s abstract revelation, ‘Walk Along the Quay’ (1950), the artist painted a series of 'Movement’ works. Like ‘Walk Along the Quay’ these works expressed Frost’s experience of the enclosed harbour at St Ives. In the movement series of paintings, he further develops the themes of boats, masts and ropes; semi-circular or half-moon shapes rocking back and forth down the canvas with rhythms orchestrated by diagonal or slanting lines.  As the artist expressed; "I had seen a number of evenings looking out over the harbour at St Ives. Although, I had been observing a multiplicity of movement during these evenings, they all evoked a common emotion or mood - a state of delight in front of nature. On one particular blue twilit evening, I was watching what can only be described as a synthesis of movement. That is to say the rise and fall of the boats, the space drawing of the mastheads, the opposing movements of the incoming sea and out blowing offshore wind - all this plus the predominant feel of blue in the evening and the static brown of the foreshore, generated an emotional state ... In this painting I was trying to give expression to my total experience of that particular evening. I was not portraying the boats, the sand, the horizon or any other subject matter, but concentrating on the emotion engendered by what I saw. The subject matter is in fact the emotion evoked by the movements and the colour in the harbour. What I have painted is an arrangement of form and colour which evokes for me a similar feeling".

Significant 'Movement' works from this period include Green, Black and White Movement (1951, Tate Gallery) and Black and White Movement (1952, Tate Gallery). Frost's common working practise was to first undertake studies and then complete these large oils in his studio. ‘Movement, study’ is a particularly fine example executed in watercolour, bodycolour and charcoal. It contains all the ingredients of the celebrated oil paintings; the rocking half moon shapes, the zig-zagging composition that Frost used to create rhythm and tension and the chevron device, anchoring the composition.  

The painting is signed bottom right and has been further signed, ex post facto, on the verso by Frost, ‘Terry Frost c/ 1950’. We have dated the work 1951 on the basis that the artist’s own record tells us it is circa 1950 and the earliest known ‘Movement’ painting was executed in 1951.