25th Jun, 2022 9:30 GMT/BST
Modern & Contemporary Art
1069
Sir Terry Frost RA (1915-2003)
Untitled
Signed and dated (19)68, mixed media, 28.5cm by 28cm
Provenance: Wills Lane Gallery, St Ives, 1995
Sold for £1,500
Estimated at £1,500 - £2,500
Some light surface dirt and debris trapped under the glass. Slight cockling to the paper. Very fine craquelure horizontal within the section where the green paint meets the red on the right and left. The purple of the lower section is possibly down on colour? Areas of faint medium sized foxing in evidence within the purple and red circle (lower section). The odd minor sporadic scattered foxing spot elsewhere. Not examined out of the frame.
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Regarding Pictures, Prints and Works on Paper, works are not examined out of the frame, unless specifically stated. Tennants Auctioneers do not cover damage to gilded wood or plaster picture frames, or to picture frame glass whilst the item is in our possession.
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Auction: Modern & Contemporary Art, 25th Jun, 2022
An iconic painting by one of the country’s most popular artists working today is coming up for sale in Tennants Auctioneers’ Modern and Contemporary Art Sale on 25th June. ‘The Ark’ by Gary Bunt (b.1957) is expected to sell for £12,000-18,000 (plus buyer’s premium).
Bunt, a self-taught artist, and poet based in rural Sussex, began painting full-time in his 20s. However, shortly afterwards he became seriously ill, which inspired a deep faith which is reflected throughout his work today. Bunt’s naïve and often whimsical style captures idealised scenes of English rural life, with themes of Christianity woven deftly through. Indeed, many of his works have a poem or prayer on the reverse, such as the present painting executed in 2013 of a children’s model Ark and teddy bears which reads “The Ark / Do animals believe in Jesus / Do animals say their prayers/ Are raindrops really angels tears? / Are there Christian Teddy Bears?”.
Leading 20th century artists represented in the sale include Sidney Nolan (1917-1992) one of Australia’s most important artists best known for his representations of legendary outlaw Ned Kelly and the drought-parched Outback. Nolan moved to England in the early 1950s, and the present works were gifted to the vendor who worked for Nolan’s widow, Mary, for many years. On offer is ‘Greece’, a mixed-media depiction of a sailing dinghy off the Grecian coast, painted whilst Nolan was staying on the island of Hydra with Australian writers George Johnston and Charmian Clift (estimate: £1,000-2,000), a lithograph ‘Ned Kelly I’ (estimate: £300-500), and two etchings depicting Ned Kelly and a cow carcass in the Outback (estimate: £300-500 each). Further notable works include ‘Vertical Lines’ and an untitled mixed media work by Sir Terry Frost (1915-2003) (estimate: £1,500-2,500 each), and a watercolour ‘Study of Lucky (Lux)’ by Maggi Hambling (b.1945). An album of photographs of the Ballets Russes’s performance of ‘Thamar’ by Keith Vaughn are also on offer, with an estimate of £700-1,000.
Viewing
Thursday 23 June 10am-4pm, Friday 24 June 10am-5pm and morning of sale from 8am. Viewing is open to the public, there is no need to make an appointment.
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