In Orange and Ochre we can see the Three Graces theme that recurs in Frost’s work in the latter half of the decade. The Three Graces was in part a product of the influence upon the artist of Ruben’s painting in the National Gallery which he first saw whilst still a student at Camberwell. The theme took many forms in Frost's work including this Three Graces sold at Sothebys in 2017. In Orange and Ochre Frost very clearly sets up a tension between the three dynamic figures or forms to the right of his composition, and the more languid pool of colour to the left. In fact the brilliant orange and ochre area surrounds and in two places appears to invade the darker pool. David Lewis tells us that for Terry the concept of Three Graces was allied to the idea of a sensuous figure of love, Gwennor, “who appears out of the sea-fret wet and glistening, and unwary fishermen drown in love”.

 

Red and Blue in the Pier Arts Centre Collection, Orkney has a very similar structure, right down to the pool of colour, again invaded at 2 points. In another work, Drowning Blue (1960), Frost’s composition presents only the invaded pool that we see as part of the other two paintings, but here the artist's title clearly underscores the connection with the mythical Gwennor, and her doomed fishermen. 

 

Frost’s immersion in New York's contemporary art culture, critical acclaim, the warm embrace of his American peers not to mention the exhibition’s commercial success, made those New York weeks during the fall of 1960 a seminal experience. Orange and Ochre was one of the works quickly snapped up from the exhibition. The painting travelled across the continent ultimately residing in a collection near Monterey, California and remained in the USA for the next 60 years.