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Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson ARA (1889-1946), 'Metropolis or 2 a.m., New York' (from the American set, 1921), drypoint, signed in pencil, plate 25.3 x 17.7cm. Sworders image.

Richard Nevinson city etchings show strength at Sworders

Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson ARA (1889-1946), 'Metropolis or 2 a.m., New York' (from the American set, 1921), drypoint, signed in pencil, plate 25.3 x 17.7cm. Sworders image.
Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson ARA (1889-1946), ‘Metropolis or 2 a.m., New York’ (from the American set, 1921), drypoint, signed in pencil, plate 25.3 x 17.7cm. Sworders image.
ESSEX COUNTY, UK – Three etchings by Christopher R.W. Nevinson unexpectedly sold for more than £19,000 ($31,269) at a sale Jan. 28 held by Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers. LiveAuctioneers.com facilitated Internet live bidding.

The artwork, featuring scenes of Paris and New York, is from the 1920s and by the British artist. Best known as Richard Nevinson, he was a famous World War I artist and many of his works are featured in the Imperial War Museum. After the war, he traveled to the United States creating art that captured his fascination with the architecture of New York. He is also credited with hosting the first-ever cocktail party in London in 1924.

At the auction at Sworders’ Stansted Mountfitchet saleroom, an etching of Paris sold for £2,500 ($4,114), four times the starting guide price of £600. A second image of Paris, which had a starting guide price of £1,000, sold for £4,000 ($6,583), and a drypoint picture of New York made £12,600, more than six times its guide price of £2,000 ($3,292).

Auctioneer John Black, said: “It’s great to see work like this reach recognition and become popular among buyers. There’s been quite a sudden increase in interest in Nevinson’s work and particularly his New York pictures. They were commissioned by Frederick Keppel, the American print dealer and publisher, who gave Nevinson his first exhibition in 1919.”

The Decorative Art and Design Sale also featured a selection of artwork by local artist, Edward Bawden. His watercolors of local scenes including Audley End were particularly popular among local buyers, but some pieces also sold to London galleries. The Edward Bawden collection sold for a total of £28,000 ($46,091).

An unusual Arts & Crafts-style piano, designed by Charles Robert Ashbee and thought to be the last of just five pianos of its type, sold for £10,600 ($17,448).

Click here to view the fully illustrated catalog for this sale, complete with prices realized.

Click here to view the fully illustrated catalog for this sale, complete with prices realized.


ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE


Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson ARA (1889-1946), 'Metropolis or 2 a.m., New York' (from the American set, 1921), drypoint, signed in pencil, plate 25.3 x 17.7cm. Sworders image.
Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson ARA (1889-1946), ‘Metropolis or 2 a.m., New York’ (from the American set, 1921), drypoint, signed in pencil, plate 25.3 x 17.7cm. Sworders image.
An unusual Arts & Crafts-style piano designed by Charles Robert Ashbee sold within estimate for £10,600 ($17,448). Sworders image.
An unusual Arts & Crafts-style piano designed by Charles Robert Ashbee sold within estimate for £10,600 ($17,448). Sworders image.