Interest in the groundbreaking Grosvenor School of Modern Art has increased rapidly over the last 10 years. Founded by Cyril Power, Claude Flight, Iain McNab and Sybil Andrews in 1925, it was a leading force in the creation and promotion of modernist print making. Bloomsbury Auctions has long been the “home” of the Grosvenor School, and their June 27 sale offers some stellar pieces.

Cyril Power (1874-1951) was an award-winning architect before he became an artist. He is best known for his modernist linocuts. His work was clearly influenced by German Expressionism, the Italian Futurists and the Vorticists. He encapsulated the spirit of the avant-garde movement, capturing the restlessness and dynamism of modern life.

Lot 44, Appy Ampstead, embodies two favorite elements that appear regularly in his art, energy and vitality, which in this case were inspired by the August Bank Holiday fair rides on Hampstead Heath. This piece is probably the most dynamic Vorticist linocut by Cyril Power, and although a very popular print at the time, it is now extremely scarce. Signed, titled and numbered 17/60 this richly inked impression datable to around 1933 is in exceptionally fine condition and is expected to fetch £30,000-£50,000.

The lot that follows, The Tube Train, is more concerned with man’s addiction to the new rat race. Based on Power’s studies of rush hour commuters on London’s District Line, the present work is amongst the largest of his linocuts. This, too, is titled, richly inked and printed in bright colors. Although numbered 17/60, only one has appeared on the market in the last 20 years. The one in Bloomsbury’s sale is expected to fetch in the region of £50,000-£70,000.

Another leading light of the Grosvenor House School was Ursula Fookes (1906-1991). Bloomsbury Auctions is offering Liner (Lot 34), a very rare linocut printed in colors and signed in pencil on the back. While this work is numbered from an edition of 50, there are only three known impressions, and of those, this is the only one which is signed by the artist.

It has been suggested that the linocut represents the RMS Titanic. While it is impossible to state that definitively, one of the key features of that ill-fated liner gives credence to the theory – the Titanic was one of only 15 4-funnel ocean liners ever built, and of these 15, seven were of a design that does not fit with that of the present work. Of the remaining eight, the Titanic was undoubtedly the most famous, not only amongst this small number of four stackers, but also of all time. This powerful image of a huge liner cutting through waves is estimated £25,000-£30,000.

No sale of Modern and Contemporary prints would be complete without works by Richard Hamilton. Self-Portrait (Lot 167) is a very rare soft-ground etching, with engraving, drypoint and punching; the date1951 and the inscription “Happy Anniversary Bill and Nora, Love from Richard: in black ink. There was no edition of this artwork, it was never published, and very few impressions were printed. This is an important piece, as it is not only one of the artist’s earliest graphic works and his first self-portrait, but it was also produced while he was still a student at the Slade School of Art. Bloomsbury Auctions has found only one other (unsigned) example of this work at auction in the past 10 years. The work to be auctioned is estimated at £10,000-£15,000.

Hamilton’s art often tested the boundaries between industrial design and creative art. His fascination with product design, the everyday object, and art all form the crux of pop art theory. Of all pieces by Hamilton in the sale, Sign, Carafe and Ashtray (Lot 169) will likely arouse the most interest. Estimated at £60,000-£80,000), the trio is in pristine condition. Bloomsbury has found no record of these works ever coming to auction and the number still in private hands is extremely low.

A witty item in the sale is Lot 189, David Hockney’s signed, dated (1962) and numbered Diploma (estimate £12,000-£18,000). While in his last year at the Royal College of Art, David Hockney refused to write a final year essay, saying that his performance should be judged on his artwork alone. The principals at the school took exception to this defiance and refused to award Hockney a passing grade or diploma for his years of study. His response was to produce his own diploma, poking fun at the teachers who had denied him a degree. The figures in lower left represent his fellow downtrodden students; the monstrous figures above are two of his more unpleasant teachers, and the central figure represents Hockney himself, dangling precariously in a pose reminiscent of Harold Lloyd hanging from the face of a clock in the 1923 film Safety Last.

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ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE