The Road to Thaxted, an Edward Bawden linocut, £7000 at Cotswold Auction Company.
It emerged at Cotswold Auction Company’s (24% buyer’s premium) latest Modern Art and Design sale in Cheltenham.
A well-known image, it depicts a classic Bawden subject near to Great Bardfield where the artist lived for almost 40 years. Thaxted is another small town in north-west Essex about six miles away from Great Bardfield.
The 2ft x 16½in (62 x 42cm) print shows the front of the farmhouse with a policeman cycling past.
It was released in an edition of 35 in 1956, as well as another edition of 55 in 1960. This was an example of the former and, like other copies, it was signed in pencil and dated to the lower right. It came to the Gloucestershire sale on August 8 from an institutional collection (the auction house said it could not disclose any specific details).
The condition was described as ‘very good’ in the catalogue with no apparent damage or fading. However, it suffered from some slight browning to the white edge near the signature which was noticeable on close inspection.
Estimated at £3000-5000, the lot drew bidding in the room, on the phone and online, with a phone bidder winning out at £7000. Only a few copies of either edition of The Road to Thaxted have ever fetched more at auction according to Artprice.com, with the highest being £8500 for another copy of the 1956 edition offered at Cheffins of Cambridge in 2019.
