Tree Dahlia 1931

Alexander Patrick Fleming made this print, Tree Dahlia, using engraving. The plant study is not simply about rendering botanical likeness but also about evoking an emotional experience. It may even hint at the artist's social anxieties and personal struggles. Fleming, born in Scotland, served as a British soldier in WWII. He was captured in Singapore and became a prisoner of war in Thailand. The extreme conditions he endured led to health problems and a lifelong struggle with depression. After the war, he studied art at the Glasgow School of Art and became a teacher. Fleming was active during a period when traditional artistic skills were often dismissed, and the definition of art was being radically questioned. The choice of a traditional medium like engraving, combined with the detailed, almost obsessive rendering of the flower, can be seen as a commentary on the changing role of the artist in post-war Britain. Art historians consider such cultural, biographical, and institutional contexts in their work.