Ben Nicholson, Untitled Mural, May 1947 with an estimate of £40,000-80,000 at Lay’s Cornish Art & Fine Art sale on April 11.
Aired in 2022, the episode tracked down whether the artwork was by Modern British artist Ben Nicholson (1894-1982) or his friend Frederick Staite Murray.
Frederick Staite Murray (1888-1972), brother of ceramicist William Staite Murray (1981-1962) was an engineer and, together with his wife Madge, became enthusiastic collectors and patrons to the celebrated Modern British artists of the time.
Ben Nicholson, Untitled Mural, May 1947 with an estimate of £40,000-80,000 at Lay’s Cornish Art & Fine Art sale on April 11.
The mural was painted onto the wall of Staite Murray's home, Red Stream Cottage in Bramley, Surrey and in the show was deemed a one-off collaboration between Nicholson and Murray.
It will be offered at Lay’s Cornish Art & Fine Art sale on April 11.
Lay’s explains that in May of 1947, Nicholson was holding an important retrospective of his work at the Lefevre Gallery in London, for which he asked to borrow five of his early works from the Staite Murrays, almost half of their collection. Lay’s says it is “not implausible to think that having stripped their walls of so many paintings, Nicholson painted the mural to show his appreciation, one that merged elements of his current work, and of the paintings he had taken away.”
During the Staite Murrays' time at the cottage, the room where it was painted also featured an alabaster sculpture by Barbara Hepworth.
Philip Mould and Fiona Bruce at Red Stream Cottage with the wall painting. Image: BBC Studios Productions.
Lay’s, commenting on the outcome of the Fake or Fortune? episode, said: “Although some of the Nicholson specialists consulted for the programme felt that the work was a collaboration between Nicholson and Fred, the programme's researchers made an emphatic case for the mural being by the single hand of Nicholson, a gift for his good friends the Staite Murrays. The weight of evidence and provenance revealed made fascinating and compelling viewing.”
The current owners have had the mural expertly removed and preserved and it will be offered as Ben Nicholson, Untitled Mural, May 1947 with an estimate of £40,000-80,000 at Lay’s Cornish Art & Fine Art sale on April 11.
