Together the seven lots generated a premium-inclusive total of £126,625. Overall the 135 lot auction at Bonhams’ Bond Street saleroom on December 18 saw 103 lots sold (76%) for a £1.15m total. The buyer’s premium was 25/20/12%. Images copyright: Bonhams.
1. The Sunshine Roof from c.1934
A print produced by Cyril Power after the artist took a trip from London to Hertford on a Green Line bus, driven by the artist's second son Cyril Arthur Power, achieved the highest price among the linocuts by the artist offered at the Bonhams sale. A trial proof before the published edition of 60 and a richly inked impression, The Sunshine Roof sold at a mid-estimate £30,000.
2. Tube Station from c.1932
Cyril Power’s famous print Tube Station was based on the platform of Bank tube station with the arc of the tunnel and strong colours giving a sense of the train hurtling into the station. A signed and numbered linocut from an edition of 60, the example at Bonhams sold for £22,000 against a £20,000-30,000 estimate.
3. The Tube Staircase from 1929
This linocut depicts the 200-step spiral staircase at Russell Square Tube Station. The Tube Staircase was among the works that Cyril Power showed in the first Grosvenor School exhibition at the Redfern Gallery in 1929. The example at Bonhams was a proof copy produced in addition to the numbered edition of 50. It sold at £14,000.
4. Hockey from c.1931
As well as his fascination with ‘the new technological age’, one of Cyril Power’s other key subjects in his art was sport. The linocut Hockey from c.1931 was made after he saw a girls’ hockey match taking place at Dukes Meadow near Barnes. The example offered at Bonhams was an experimental proof before the edition of 50. It sold at £12,000.
5. The Giant Racer from c.1930
Cyril Power’s inspiration for his The Giant Racer print came from a roller-coaster at the Wembley Exhibition Fun Fair in London. The signed linocut at Bonhams was titled and numbered 4/50 in pencil, and was knocked down at £12,000.
6. Folk dance from c.1932
The repeated patterns of figures dancing provided Cyril Power with another fertile topic for his prints. Folk dance was an attempt by the artist to capture the symmetry of movement together with the spirit of the inter-war years. The signed, titled and numbered impression at Bonhams was part of an edition of 60 and, on the day, sold at £7500.
7. Acrobats from c.1933
Cyril Power made his Acrobats linocut after watching a group of trapeze artists at Bertram Mills Circus in London. From an edition of 60, the signed, titled and numbered print at Bonhams sold at £3800.
