Bloomsbury’s first Visual Arts sale of the season is Oil Paintings, Watercolours, Drawings & Prints including Caricatures on 23rd October. The auction includes large groups of privately owned lots, which will certainly arouse considerable interest and the catalogue also boasts an introduction by Huon Mallalieu, the well known expert on British watercolours.
A particularly interesting lot to watch is A Portrait of a Bearded Man signed by Henry Ossawa Tanner (lot 26). Tanner (1859-1937) was the first African American to achieve international recognition, and judging by the label on the reverse of the canvas, the portrait probably dates from his period in Europe and possibly after his time spent travelling in the Middle East where he explored biblical sites. The modest estimate reflects the poor condition of the painting. An intimate view of Venice depicting colourful local characters chatting at the foot of a bridge over a quiet canal by Henry Woods is expected to fetch £10000-15000(lot 30). In complete contrast is a powerful portrait of Patuone, Eruera Maihi, a key figure in both Maori and Western settlement history (lot 37). A child when Captain Cook first landed, he became a fierce warrior in inter tribal Maori warfare and later petitioned William IV for protection from the French who were exploring the region. This handsome half length portrait of the great chieftain with his face heavily tattooed and holding a club, is estimated £10000-15000. It is signed by Maggie Bullock a late 19th century writer, social reformer and campaigner for women’s rights and suffrage. One of the most interesting aspects of this sale is its diversity; lot 56 is a bold and exuberant landscape in oils by Albert Marquet, Alger, Pommier en Fleurs et Cypres. Supplied with its certificate of authenticity this Fauve painting is estimated £15000-20000.
The section entitled Picturesque Architecture and the Anglo French School comprises a noteworthy private collection. The end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 triggered an artistic explosion and collaboration amongst young British and French artists. British artists had been somewhat cut off from their French counterparts which had lead to the extraordinary uninhibited and natural blossoming of the English watercolour school. The French, on the other hand, had been trained in the approved classical style of the Empire and the art of their British counterparts was a revelation to them. The influence of the Anglo-French School had ended by 1848 but its influence was widespread and longlived and as Mallalieu suggests, made it ‘a forerunner of Impressionism.’
Lots 82-92 by Richard Parkes Bonington (who learnt printmaking in the studio of Baron Gros and where he also became a close friend of Delacroix), show his work spanning from prints to drawings with estimates ranging from £150-3000. Lots 94-100 by Thomas Shotter Boys epitomise the fascination with the ‘picturesque’ architecture so popular at the time. Lot 94 however, La Tour de Beffroi, Calais is a superb example of a lithotint, achieved by drawing directly on the stone with liquid ink. The prints range from £200 to £10000-15000 for a watercolour over pencil such as The Oude Hoofd Poort, Rotterdam (lot 96). Another beautiful work in pen with grey and black ink with wash, is A View of Pont Neuf, Paris (lot 106) by Thomas Girtin and which is datable to the end of his life (estimate £10000-15000).
Another artist with a keen eye for the ‘picturesque’ is William Warren Porter. His charming Collection of Drawings and Watercolours (mainly rural landscapes) is estimated £4000-6000 (lot 161). In contrast is an important group of 9 Cubist Art Deco drawings by the Martel twins (lot 209), which include studies of jazz musicians, women and a cat (estimate £3000-5000).
Amongst the Caricatures are drawings and cartoon artwork spanning several centuries from Rowlandson to Bateman, Osbert Lancaster, Searle and Shepard. The core of this section is a private collection of caricatures relating to Russia’s involvement in the Napoleonic Wars (lots 281-298). The prints by Cruikshank, Rowlandson, Williams and Woodward amongst others represent England and Russia as comrades in arms against the common foe, France. It is worth bearing in mind that these prints reflect the first time the English public had encountered Russians at close quarters.
A giant amongst floral printmakers must be Dr Thornton and his stupendous Temple of Flora. This ‘piece de resistance’ is estimated £18000-22000 (lot 457). Another magnificent lot is a good group of 19 plates from Edward Lear’s Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae or Parrots of 1831 with an estimate of £8000-12000 (lot 472).
Auction info www.bloomsburyauctions.com