Soldier with Silvovitz was ‘prompted by the Bosnian War of 1992-5. Previously he had avoided direct comment on conflict, as on anything to do with power and politics; but in this paintings, and attendant studies, he attempted the art of protest. The brutal soldier in the foreground is drunk on the plum brandy distilled in Serb Orthodox monasteries.’ (Ian Collins, John Craxton, published by Lund Humphries, p.158)

The Estate of the Artist