Peter de Francia initially established his reputation in the 1950s for his powerful politically and socially enagaged paintings and drawings. There may be precedents for Peter de Francia's work in that of Goya, Beckmann, Grosz, Picasso and Guttuso, but his is a distinctly personal vision, as relevant today as it was half a century ago.

Whether de Francia's subjects are real or imagined, whether he uses the language of myth or fable, what always comes through is the artist's engagement with people and above all his intense humanity. He exposes the horror of man's treatment of man, but there are also intimations of something better - a world of friendship and camaraderie, of humour and simple pleasures.