Red Kite by Cissie Kean, priced £12,000 at Whitford Fine Art as part of the Eye of the Collector fair, May 17-20.
Running from May 17-20, the event showcases some 150 objects by Modern and Contemporary artists and designers from over 20 participating galleries and mixes them together as they might appear in a personal collection at the fair’s Two Temple Place venue.
Among the galleries participating is London-based Whitford Fine Art, which will bring a c.1925 painting by the relatively unknown British artist Cissie Kean (1871-1961). Red Kite, a 21 x 15in (55 x 38cm) oil on canvas, priced at £12,000, belongs to the artist’s post-war works.
Kean’s style – flat, highly simplified and semi-abstract forms of varying themes in a layered, interlocking geometric composition – was greatly inspired by her time in Paris learning under André Lhôte, Fernand Léger and Amédée Ozenfant.
She was born in London to a wealthy family of German coffee merchants and developed an interest in painting from a young age, but her family made it clear that a career as a painter would not be suitable for a young woman of her social standing.
After being crippled as a young adult in a riding accident, however, she decided to dedicate her life to painting.
“At the request of her family, she maintained a low profile and most of her papers and some of her works were sadly lost or destroyed in the years following her death. Happily, despite these obstacles her oeuvre survives, and in the end, Kean succeeded in pursuing her passion and dedicating her life to art,” said the gallery.
Twentieth century works
Works by other 20th century artists at the fair include examples by Patrick Heron, Bram Bogart, Bridget Riley, Andy Warhol, William Scott, Frank Auerbach, Barbara Hepworth, Lynn Chadwick and Joseph Lacasse. All of these will be exhibited through Alan Wheatley Art, Tanya Baxter Contemporary and Whitford Fine Art.
A selection of Mid-century Brazilian furniture will be exhibited by Ana Escarzaga Gallery, and 20th century photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson among others are for sale through the Peter Fetterman Gallery.
Commissions by contemporary artists and makers are also being unveiled at Eye of the Collector. Among the galleries bringing new work are Adrian Sutton Gallery, Arusha Gallery, Brocket Gallery, Circle Art Gallery and Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery.
New talent
Eye of the Collector founder and CEO Nazy Vassegh, previously of Masterpiece and Sotheby’s, said the latest edition will “continue our ethos of artistic discovery, shining a light on new and overlooked talent”.
She added: “We have a particularly strong focus on supporting international contemporary artists and designers, with 60 works being revealed at Eye of the Collector for the first time.”
