Frederick (Fred) Lawson (1888-1968)
"East Witton"
Signed, inscribed and dated July 10th 1950, black pen and ink, together with two further signed, inscribed and dated pen and ink studies by the same artist "Bolton Ghyll July 7th 1941" and "Gayle, July 21st 1955", also to include an extensively illustrated letter from the artist to the patron Mr George Hopkinson and two further signed woodcuts depicting a cottage amongst a copse of trees, a church in snow and another monochromatic woodblock by Muriel Metcalfe depicting a mother and child silhouetted against a starry sky, 27.5cm by 38cm, 25cm by 35.5cm, 27.5cm by 38cm, 22.5cm by 17.5cm, 21cm by 16.5cm, 18.5cm by 14cm and 19.5cm by 17.5cm respectively (7) (all unframed)

FREDERICK (FRED) LAWSON (1888-1968)

Fred Lawson was born in 1888 to a loom-weaving and mill-owning family in Yeadon to the north of Leeds, one of five siblings. Plagued by ill-health throughout his childhood, Lawson was not strong enough to enter the mill, but was supported through six years of art school by his father.

After first studying at Dewsbury Technical College, he attended Leeds School of Art until he was 20, during which time he spent a year at South Kensington School of Art (later the Royal College of Art) where he earned his teaching diploma.

In 1910, Lawson first ventured into Wensleydale, arriving in Castle Bolton with friend and fellow artist George Graham. During their month long stay, they were visited by fellow Leeds students Jacob Kramer (see lots 450-456) and Philip Naviasky (see lots 426-434), who were to become regular visitors to the Dale. The month spent in the Dales left a lasting impression, and after returning to Leeds to take up a teaching position, he handed in his notice after two terms and returned to Wensleydale. After initially taking temporary lodgings, he and George Graham settled in Castle Bolton, sharing a cottage and studio.
Lawson began his life as an artist, living simply like those around him, painting and exploring his new home. During those early years, Lawson and Graham made several painting trips to Europe, visiting France, Belgium and Holland to expand their artistic horizons. During his first trip to France in 1911, he came under the influence of the Barbizon School of Artists, who worked en plein air in the countryside around Fontainebleau, just outside Paris.

Back in Castle Bolton, Lawson settled into the Dales, embedding himself in rural life and the local community. He painted every day, exhibited, and supplemented his income by teaching art locally as his reputation grew.

It was through his informal roles as an art tutor that Lawson first met Muriel Metcalfe (see lot 435), whose talent as an artist he recognised at an early age.
Leyburn-born Muriel went on to study at Art College in Newcastle, and on her return to Wensleydale, she often joined Lawson to paint. Like-minded souls, the pair married in 1933 and settled in a cottage in Castle Bolton. Money may have been tight, but they lived simply and happily. They were joined in 1934 by their beloved daughter Sonia, herself now a renowned artist and Royal Academician.

For 58 years, Lawson's fascination with capturing Wensleydale and its people never waned. He continued to walk the hills and dales in all weathers, armed with paint box and paper, just as much a local landmark as the rocks and trees he so clearly loved.

"The man, we can say, loved the countryside" - J. B. Priestley

ABOUT THE COLLECTOR

Following the exceptionally well-received first instalment presented on 6 March 2021, we are delighted to bring to market a further and final selection of works from the collection meticulously assembled over nearly fifty years by Mr George G. Hopkinson. A proud Yorkshireman and accomplished textile businessman, he was a director of the West Riding textile company Hopkinson and Shore, as well as of Novello’s, a Bradford fashion house.

George Hopkinson was no ordinary businessman. A man of strong Liberal convictions, he was deeply committed to the artistic and cultural life in Bradford and the West Riding of Yorkshire, and was a vocal advocate for the establishment of a university in Bradford.

George had a deep love of art and spent much of his time in the company of local artists in Yorkshire. He became both a de facto patron and friend to many of the Yorkshire-based artists whose work he collected and championed, including Fred Lawson, Philip Naviasky, Fred Cecil Jones, and Jacob Kramer. He was himself also an amateur painter.

From 1929 to 1934, he became the editor of "The Heaton Review", a "Northern Miscellany of Art and Literature" circulated in the parish of Heaton, Bradford. Not content to limit its articles to local matters, George invited and received contributions from the great and the good of British society, including John Galsworthy, J B Priestley, George Bernard Shaw, Kenneth Grahame, Hugh Walpole, the poet and art scholar Laurence Binyon, and music from the composer Gustav Holst, amongst many others.

He also met Mahatma Gandhi during his tour of the north of England in 1931, and asked Gandhi to sign a recently completed portrait of him by the Leeds artist Jacob Kramer. A lithograph of the signed drawing is held in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery. George later invited Gandhi to contribute to The Heaton Review, but by this time Gandhi was back in India and had been imprisoned in Poona (now Pune) so wrote a letter in reply from jail regretting that he was not permitted correspondence with newspapers and reviews.

As editor, George Hopkinson provided "The Heaton Review" with illustrations and copies of paintings from his collection, including many by his friends such as Lawson, Naviasky, Jones and Kramer, some of whose paintings are included in this sale.

George Hopkinson was also President of The Bradford Textile Society between 1945 and 1947, and for many years was the editor of its annual publication, "The Journal". As with "The Heaton Review",, George broadened The Journal's remit, inviting contributions from notable public figures such as the Archbishop of York (who wrote of "The World in the Atomic Age" soon after the dropping of the atomic bombs in Japan in 1945). Again, George included illustrations by Fred Lawson, Fred Jones, Janet Rawlins, TS Evans, Cecil Hunt, Angus Rands and many others, often from his own collection (Lots 412 and 420). In June 1963, as President of the Bradford Arts Club, he hosted an exhibition entitled "The Collection of a Wanderlust in Art" which included 140 paintings and drawings from his private collection, which at that time contained three works by a little-known but up-and-coming Bradford artist called David Hockney.

In addition to over a thousand paintings, George also collected furniture, at times keeping pieces at his mill before bringing them home in the hope that his first wife, Emily, might not notice.

Upon his death in 1969, the collection was divided between his second wife, Joan, and the families of his two sons, John and Gary. The paintings presented in this sale formed part of John Hopkinson’s estate. The collection is a legacy from a remarkable individual whose discerning eye played a significant role in promoting Yorkshire-based artists of his time.