This essay examines two paintings by Denis Williams, Human World (1950) and Painting in Six Related Rhythms (1954), and their accompanying critical reception, to consider the transformation that takes place from an early interest in social realism and narrative approach in representing the post-war urban environment and the experience of migration in London, to a radically geometric abstraction that deliberately negates any narrative reference. Wyndham Lewis was a fervent supporter and mentor, but his writings on Williams employed clichéd characterizations of primitivism and colonialism that limited a fuller understanding of the artist's intentions for his work. Wilson Harris's more fully considered essays provide an interesting counterpart. Williams's contribution to British modernism of the 1950s, which was largely eclipsed following his departure for Africa and eventual return to Guyana, should, it is argued, be reconsidered as part of a fuller and more inclusive assessment of that period.

中文翻译：

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构建人类世界：丹尼斯·威廉姆斯在 1950 年代英国现代主义中的地位

本文考察了丹尼斯·威廉姆斯( Denis Williams) 的两幅画作《人间世界》 (1950) 和绘画中的六种相关节奏（1954 年），以及伴随而来的批判性接受，考虑从早期对社会现实主义和叙事方法的兴趣在表现战后城市环境和伦敦移民经历到一种激进的几何抽象的转变。否定任何叙述性参考。温德姆·刘易斯是一位狂热的支持者和导师，但他关于威廉姆斯的作品采用了原始主义和殖民主义的陈词滥调，限制了对艺术家作品意图的更全面理解。威尔逊哈里斯更充分考虑的文章提供了一个有趣的对应。威廉姆斯对 1950 年代英国现代主义的贡献，在他离开非洲并最终返回圭亚那后，在很大程度上黯然失色，有人认为，