Modern British Art

Although its launch was only announced in February, the ‘Modern Art Fair’ planned for September in London has been postponed, but will run in 2017.

Christie’s have announced details of their latest ‘themed’ sale – an evening sale of British art which will take place in London on June 30.

Dealers starting out today will struggle to replicate the success of established Old Master dealers, according to Richard Green.

A selection of works by David Tindle (b.1932) will be offered at Grand Auctions in Folkestone on May 9.

In the space of just 48 hours, two paintings by the self-taught Welsh artist and horticulturalist Cedric Morris (1889-1982) raised the auction bar for his work to a new level.

A watercolour by Eric Ravilious (1903-1942) drew serious bidding at Sworders this week, overtaking a £40,000-60,000 estimate before it was knocked down at £85,000.

The 20/21 British Art Fair will be relaunched next summer at the newly refurbished Mall Galleries in St James’s.

An Eric Ravilious (1903-42) watercolour has emerged at Sworders of Essex and will be among the star lots at their first dedicated Modern British Art sale next month.

Among the lots drawing competition at the latest picture sale held by Mallams of Oxford was a hilltop view of the Sussex landscape by Hannah Gluckstein (1895-1978).

Following the cancellation of the 20/21 British Art Fair, a new event has been announced that intends to fill the gap left by the loss of the established September fixture.

A decade on since Artist’s Resale Right (ARR) was launched in the UK, over £50m has been collected from auctions and dealers for artists and their heirs.

This year’s 20/21 British Art Fair, held in September for more than a quarter century, has been cancelled as no suitable London venue can be found.

An archive comprising Lucian Freud’s sketchbooks, drawings and letters has been acquired by the nation from the estate of the artist through the Acceptance in Lieu Scheme.

Dorset auctioneers Cottees ventured into the Modern Art market with their latest sale featuring works by the likes of Paul Nash, Fred Yates and Lawrence Durrell.

Dulwich Picture Gallery launched a long overdue show of watercolours by Eric Ravilious (1903-42) last week, an artist unswayed by fashion whose paintings and designs encapsulate the spirit of inter-War England.

This portrait by Glyn Warren Philpot (1884-1937) was the star performer of pictures formerly in Sir Noël Coward’s collection sold at Christie’s South Kensington.

When Ann Ullmann, the daughter of Eric Ravilious (1903-42), visited J.S. Auctions’ newly refurbished salerooms in Banbury in August, she declared herself delighted to see this previously unknown 16 x 20in (41 x 52cm) watercolour, above, by her father for the first time.

With the new auction season kicking off in September, plenty of pictures will be going under the hammer over the next few weeks and, naturally, there are a few stars that have come to light across the regions.

The First World War centenary has prompted numerous related exhibitions which have rather dominated the calendar this year as you might expect.

Britain may not have the same high-profile post-War design tradition as countries like Italy or Denmark (and its products do not command such high prices in the marketplace) but the period was a fertile and creative one which saw a number of talented designers and manufacturers produce a distinctive look.