One of a series of ‘Verticals’ paintings executed in St Ives after Frost returned from Leeds in 1957. Talking about one such work, the artist recounted; “I had attempted to use a kind of figure shape either horizontally or vertically but it had to have no resemblance to Picasso figure distortion.”

Red and Black Verticals is also one of Terry’s evocations of the Three Graces; a recurring theme in his work, particularly around 1959. Frost abstracted the tension and sensuality set up by the three figures or forms that he first encountered as a student in front of Ruben’s masterpiece at the National Gallery. For Frost, the concept of the Three Graces was also tied up with the sensually charged figure of love, Gwennor, who appears out of the ocean to unwary fishermen, who overcome, drown in love for her.

The work has an unusual level of impasto; the thickness of paint in areas being more reminiscent of Frost’s contemporary, Paul Feiler. Much of the impasto work however has been subsequently reworked with thinner washes of oil paint as the artist seeks to refine the figures or forms and establish the overall structure of the painting. In reworking and overpainting areas Frost has also been careful to leave evidence of his process; the earlier applied colour still radiating through the later applications of thinner brushwork. This gives the painting a sense of depth, particularly in the top half of the canvas. Frost's interest in evidencing the process and choices made is a quality perhaps most associated with his POW friend and mentor, Adrian Heath.