Craigie Aitchison often depicted the crucifixion in an atmosphere of nocturnal peace. This work was made five years after his first crucifixion and is painted predominantly in midnight blue, a shade that suggests the fading light of late evening. Below, the ground is painted in earthen yellow. Where the two complementary colours meet, Aitchison elicits the effect of a glowing horizon; the gentle mount hums with a delicate hue of green. These effects of colour and light are exacting and though the composition consists of very few components, Crucifixion VII was executed with great precision and accuracy. As with many of Aitchison’s paintings, the apparent simplicity of this work conceals many difficult, carefully calculated creative acts.

The painting was shown in Aitchison’s Beaux Arts Gallery exhibition in 1964. Ten other paintings of the crucifixion were included there, numbered consecutively in Roman numerals (nos. 35–45), only one of which – Crucifixion III – was illustrated in the accompanying catalogue. The numbering of Aitchison’s crucifixion paintings was arbitrary insofar that titles were only given when works were exhibited. In addition to the 1964 exhibition, a long list of consecutively numbered crucifixions was included in his 1968 Marlborough Fine Art exhibition (eight crucifixions), his 1977 Knoedler exhibition (three crucifixions), and his 1987 Albemarle Gallery exhibition (nine crucifixions).