Modern British Art

Charles Rebel Stanton (1887-1954) was a flamboyant and multi-faceted artist. But, although he was something of a minor celebrity in his day, he remains largely unfamiliar to many and has never had a huge presence on the market.

A group of lots with a strong whiff of the Bloomsbury Group emerged at a recent auction held at North Yorkshire saleroom Elstob (25% buyer’s premium).

On a sweltering night in the capital, a record was set for a single-owner sale in London as the Lewis collection raised an extraordinary £296.3m total at Sotheby’s.

Painted with a scene of two St Ives double-ended mackerel luggers heeling to an offshore breeze, this Alfred Wallis (1855-1942) picture has what Mimi Connell-Lay calls “an absolute dream of a provenance”.

For those with a commercial interest in the sweeping semi-abstract paintings of Ivon Hitchens (1893-1979), June 2 must have been a pretty busy day.

A house record for Olympia Auctions’ (25% buyer’s premium) picture department came in early June when a beach scene by LS Lowry (1887-1976) took an above-estimate £190,000.

A number of sales around the country in early June demonstrated how the market for Modern British art seems to be in a pretty good place heading into the key summer season.

A rare and early mixed media sketch by David Hockney (b.1937-2026), made when he was just 19, brought notable competition at Tennants’ (24% buyer’s premium) latest sale of Modern & Contemporary Art.

Wiltshire art dealer Winsor Birch is offering Francis Bacon’s (1909-92) front door from his London studio at 7, Reece Mews.

Until recently, the artist Muriel Blomfield Jackson (1901-77) never had much presence on the secondary market.

The British Art Fair, held annually at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea and focused on Modern and Contemporary British art, will return on September 24-27 this year.

A notable sum for Christopher Wood (1901-30) was recorded at the latest sale held by Gloucestershire saleroom Chorley’s (25% buyer’s premium).

One of Lucian Freud’s (1922-2011) most famous portraits will appear at Sotheby’s sale of the Lewis collection in June.