13th Jun, 2026 9:30 GMT/BST
Modern & Contemporary Art
426
Philip Naviasky (1894-1983)
"Martigues"
Signed, inscribed and dated 1931, charcoal and watercolour, together with two further signed mixed media examples by the artist to include "Martigues" and a Seated female figure at work (1920) with inscription and further unfinished monochromatic sketch of corresponding subject matter to reverse, 31.5cm by 47.5cm, 23cm by 31cm and 22.5cm by 31cm respectively (3) (all unframed)
Born in Leeds, of Polish extraction, Naviasky won a scholarship to the Leeds School of Fine Arts in 1907. Five years later, he was the youngest ever student accepted into the Royal Academy School. He then went on to study at the Royal College of Art, before taking up a post as an art teacher at the Leeds College of Art.
He married Millie Astrinsky in 1933, and the couple remained based in Leeds. They had a daughter, Sonia, who became an artist in her own right. See lot 425 for an example of an exceptionally early work by the artist.
Naviasky's landscapes recall the shimmering vibrancy of the post-impressionists, characterised by the confident use of colour. As well as depicting local Yorkshire scenes, the artist travelled widely, and used the opportunities to capture the sun-drenched views of Morocco, Spain, and France.
Naviasky’s works are held in numerous national collections, such as the Bradford Museum and Art Galleries, Leicester Museum and Art Galleries, the Atkinson Art Gallery Collection and the Hepworth Wakefield.
Estimated at £200 - £300
Auction: Modern & Contemporary Art, 13th Jun, 2026
“Bolton Junction Eccleshill, Bradford”, a rare early mixed media work made by David Hockney when he was just 19, is one of the highlights of the sale. The work was purchased from David Hockney at his end of year show at Bradford Regional College of Art by Malcolm Riley, a tutor at the college and the vendor’s father.
The sale will be a celebration of Northern Art with some of the most significant artists of the region represented, including two drawings by L.S. Lowry, a selection of works by mining artists Norman Cornish and Tom McGuinness, and three paintings by Huddersfield-born contemporary artist Maxwell Doig.
Ceramics by Pablo Picasso will sit alongside pictures by Ken Howard, Spanish artist Carlos Nadal, David Shepherd, and a vibrant ‘Heart Spin’ by Damien Hirst, made to celebrate the opening of Damien Hirst: Requiem, an exhibition at the Pinchuk Art Centre in Kyiv 2009.
A Yorkshire View Part II: The sale will open with A Yorkshire View Part II, a large Private Collection of paintings, principally of Yorkshire or by Yorkshire artists, collected by textiles manufacturer George Hopkinson. Artists represented in the collection include Fred Cecil Jones, Fred Lawson, Jacob Kramer and Philip Naviasky. The Yorkshire View Part I was held at Tennants in 2021, and the catalogue can be viewed HERE.
To be sold in nearly sixty lots, the pictures on offer are just a small part of the collection built up over fifty years from the 1920s to the 1960s by Mr George G Hopkinson, a proud Yorkshireman and textile businessman who was a director of West Riding textile company Hopkinson and Shore and Bradford fashion house Novello’s. 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. Read more about the Collector.
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Thursday 11th June - Friday 12th June 10am-4pm and morning of the sale from 8am
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