LONDON – The contents of an Oxfordshire dower house comprise much of a Dreweatts champions of modern British paintings sale on Tuesday, Feb. 24. With works predominately from Newlyn and St. Ives schools, artists include Christopher Wood, John Anthony Park and Samuel John Lamorna Birch. The wider collection, which spans furniture, ceramics and works of art, will also be auctioned at Donnington Priory in Berkshire.
LiveAuctioneers.com will provide absentee and Internet live bidding.
Sweeping, vibrant landscapes of the British countryside are the preferred subject matter of the artists in this sale, and leading these is The White Farm, circa 1928, by Christopher Wood (1901-1930). Wood played a key role in the development of English Modernism, and as a leading name, he combined naturalism with abstraction in a vivid almost primitive form. This painting, authenticated on the reverse by the artist’s mother, Clara Wood, is estimated at £40,000-£60,000.
The purity of natural light and ethereal costal scenery drew Wood, and others, to St Ives and its thriving art colony. It was here, with the Cornish countryside as his muse that Wood produced a number of paintings from his short but influential life.
Three works by John Park (1880-1962) explore the marine scenery, which was popular with many artists of the St Ives School during the early 20th century, and frequently appear in Park’s own paintings. Morning Light, St. Ives Harbour, is typical of his fascination with the harbor, and is estimated at £8,000-£12,000.
His other works in the sale include Boats off a quay, [Lot 2, est. £3,000-£5,000] and At anchor, St. Ives, [Lot 3, est. £2,500-£3,500].
Along with St. Ives, Newlyn was the most active school of 20th century British art. Like St. Ives, its spectacular scenery and clarity of light created the perfect setting for an artist to paint “en plein air.” The sale includes two works by Samuel John Lamorna Birch, a prominent figure of the later generation of Newlyn artists. Offered here are examples of two of his favourite subject matters; the British shoreline portrayed in Coastline, [Lot 6, est. £10,000-£15,000] and rivers in the form of Winter Stream, Lamorna, [Lot 10, est. £5,000-£7,000].
Another Cornish scene from the Modern British paintings section that opens the sale, is View from the Artist’s house, Polperro, by Stuart Armfield (1916-1999). Armfield moved to Cornwall in 1942, where he took up painting as a professional career. [Lot 12, est. £3,000-£5,000].
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