Scottish art for auction at Bonhams New York

A selection of paintings from an important and comprehensive collection of Scottish Art amassed over 20 years by a private collector in Canada will be on view at Bonhams, 580 Madison Avenue from 21-26 June. The entire collection, which is to be sold in Edinburgh at Bonhams Scottish Sale on September 12, is expected to fetch over $3 million.

The star lot is Cassis, the White Villa, by Francis Cadell which is estimated at $235,000- 315,000. Cadell and his fellow Scottish Colourists spent many years in France and provide the most direct link between British art and the revolutionary artistic developments on the Continent in the early 1900s. Among other works by Cadell are The Sound of Iona ($95,000 -125,000) a beautiful representation of the Scottish island where the painter spent many happy summers sketching and painting in the open air in his kilt and silk shirt. His Iona paintings have been described as ‘the archetypal Colourist pictures’ and this one is particularly notable for the rare inclusion of a feature in the form of a yacht and its dingy.

Also included in the exhibition are:
Bather Cap d’Antibes by J D Fergusson ($155,000-235,000). Like his fellow Colourist Cadell, Fergusson spent several years abroad and this exuberant canvas of a sun bather in the South of France reflects the influence of Cezanne on his work.

May Easter by Cadell ($95,000-125,000) a stylised and stylish portrait from the 1920s of a woman clad in the latest fashion.

Outside the Bullring by Arthur Melville. Painted in 1899 toward the end of the artist’s life, this work depicts the moment of anticipation as the crowd waits at the gate for entry to the bullring and gives full reign to his ability to capture light, movement and action.

Miss Anne Spencer by Sir James Guthrie. An accomplished and characteristic society portrait by Guthrie which echoes the light, deft touch and restrained palette of Whistler with whom the painter was close friends. The American artist was a particular inspiration for the Glasgow Boys School as they sought general recognition and success through society portraiture.