On Tuesday 7th April, Dreweatts Auctioneers will be selling an impressive collection of pictures amassed by keen-eyed collector Alan Proctor during the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties. Now long retired, Alan was a leading figure in the golden age of dance bands. His orchestra played across the world alongside many of the greats, and were hugely popular in their genre. Alan had always had a passion for the arts, and on a trip to Cornwall in the 1960s he came across a group of pictures that formed the nucleus of his collection. Over subsequent years, he added to this with a wide range of 19th and 20th century watercolours and oils which Dreweatts are delighted to be offering for sale.
Representative of the more conservative end of the wide spectrum that makes up Alan’s artistic taste is a view of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice (see illustration) by 20th century traditionalist British artist Hugh Boycott-Brown, offered with an estimate of £400 to £600. The sale includes dozens of pictures in a similar vein, all priced below £1,000. Alan’s eye, however, takes in a far broader range of styles, and these are also well represented in the sale.
The work of John Piper is synonymous with British painting in the second half of the 20th century, and Alan’s collection boasts a fine example in the shape of “Nude with High Boots” (see illustration), a mixed media work from 1971, estimated at £2,000 to £4,000.
A less familiar name is that of John Bratby, but he is keenly collected as a leading exponent of what was known as the “kitchen sink realism” school of art. The sale includes a number of his works, most notably “The artist and Diana with lilies” (see illustration), a 1972 oil on canvas which carries a pre-sale estimate of £3,000 to £5,000.
“This collection is unusual in that it combines works of remarkably high quality from a variety of different artistic movements and periods”, says Dreweatts’ Picture specialist Archie Parker. “Alan Proctor’s keen eye as a collector has allowed him to build up a fantastic and eclectic collection over the years, and it is our privilege to be able to offer it for sale.”
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