Modern British Art

Naive-style Cornish art has been on a good run at regional auctions over recent months.

The 466-lot sale of the Sally Hunter and Ian Posgate collection at Sworders was a marathon event – taking over 10 hours in all.

Modern British pictures sold at Gildings’ (20% buyer’s premium) recent Fine & Decorative Arts and Antiques auction helped the Leicestershire saleroom to the highest total in its 41-year history.

Algernon Newton (1880-1968) has been one of the stars of the season with both his urban and rural scenes attracting high prices in the regions in the last month.

Exhibition concentrates on John Craxton works before he moved to Greece after the war

This typical Monet-inspired, sun-drenched beach scene by Dorothea Sharp (1874-1955) is priced at £18,500 as part of a Modern British exhibition at Thompson’s Aldeburgh.

Duke’s sale of property from Wormington Grange in Gloucestershire included a record for the Modern British painter Algernon Newton (1880-1968).

Works from either a distinguished collection or well-known owner offered with appealing estimates are an enticing prospect at auction.

As the son of an entomologist and ornithologist, the artist David Morrison Reid-Henry (1919-77) was destined for a career observing wildlife and nature.

London’s art world between the wars was a surprisingly diverse community.

Modern prints can offer the chance to own interesting and eye-catching works, including those by well-known artists, without needing to invest large sums of money. This makes prints a viable option for collectors on a smaller budget as well as those just starting out.

The linocuts produced by artists from the Grosvenor School in London, which ran from 1925-40, have been one of the liveliest areas of the Modern British prints market in the last 15-20 years.

Most prints are closely connected with an artist’s wider oeuvre. A few good Welsh examples were on offer at Rogers Jones (22% buyer’s premium) in Cardiff on April 17.

Among the publishing houses that helped put Modern British prints on the map was The Curwen Studio.

'Five Circles' first appeared as part of Ben Nicholson’s (1894-1982) publication 23 Gravures in 1934 and was then released as a limited-edition print. The initial run of approximately 30 signed copies was followed by various reprintings.

Edward Seago was a favourite of the establishment, royals in particular, but has a wider appeal such as his views of Hong Kong

With a lack of fairs during the pandemic and fewer scheduled in the near future, picture dealer Jeremy Green has taken the plunge and returned to running a physical gallery after 15 years of running his dealership from home and standing at fairs.

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

Depiction of one McNeill sister sets a record while portrait of her sibling also appears at another auction

Oil bought by the vendor directly from the artist Lucy Harwood features a still-life on the reverse