Modern British Art

To mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of the Scottish Colourist Samuel John Peploe (1871-1935), Lyon & Turnbull’s sale of Scottish Paintings & Sculpture auction on December 9 will have a special focus on the artist.

The top two UK auction houses have announced a string of high-profile consignments coming to auction in the autumn/winter season.

A “vanishingly rare” oil by Barnett Freedman (1901-58) showing a newly liberated Normandy town shortly after D-Day is among the star exhibits at the Winter Art & Antiques Fair at Olympia in London.

It has been a busy season for ornithological favourite Archibald Thorburn (1860-1935) with a number of quality pictures previously sold by leading dealers reappearing at auction and attracting keen interest.

Small bronzes form part of a group of sculptures underlining the market demand at regional salerooms.

The studio pottery collection of the late US dealer Dr John Driscoll will be offered at Phillips in conjunction with specialist Maak.

Another studio sale bringing attention to an artist whose work rarely appears was held at Dreweatts (25% buyer’s premium) via a timed online auction of pictures by Bruce Tippett (1933-2017) that closed on September 16.

Among the highlights in terms of Mod Brit sales this autumn, Lyon & Turnbull will offer the personal collection of Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912-2004) .

A number of works by musician-artist Herbert Whone (1925-2011) have generated notable interest over the course of 2021.

Bonhams becomes latest saleroom to hold auctions dedicated to works by women.

It is certainly not unheard of for a studio sale to transform the market for a Modern British artist.

A Paula Rego (b.1935) print was among the works bringing interest at a charity sale held by Dorchester saleroom Duke’s to support a disability centre.

Thompson’s Galleries, specialist in Modern and Contemporary British art, is opening a third exhibition space this October.

John Rolfe from Wotton Auction Rooms had been asked to undertake a valuation for probate in a bungalow near Salisbury when he made an intriguing discovery.

This work by Victor Pasmore (1908-98) was given by the artist to Gordon Ryder, one half of the Newcastle architectural practice of Ryder and Yates.

The English painter and engraver Bernard Kay (1927-2021) became an established name in the 1950s-60s British art scene but he has never had much of an auction presence.

Two works by Henry Moore (1898-1986) will feature in the sale at Shannon’s in Milford, Connecticut, on October 28.