Early Victor Pasmore in the Modern & Contemporary Art Sale

This October, and early figurative cityscape by Victor Pasmore (1908-1998), one of the key figures of the British abstract art movement, will be coming up for sale in the Modern & Contemporary Art Sale at Tennants Auctioneers with an estimate of £30,000-50,000 (all figures exclude buyer’s premium). The work was purchased in the 1940s by the vendor’s grandfather, who collected Modern British Art. “View of Clarges Street” exemplifies the lyrical realism of the first half of Pasmore’s career, inspired by the likes of Manet, Cezanne and Turner. Using a limited colour palette, Pasmore offers the viewer a glimpse of a busy London street in the heart of Mayfair. From the vantage point of a quiet interior, we are removed from the bustle of city life, lending the work an almost dreamlike quality whilst exploring perspective with the grid-like lines of the windows framing the buildings of Clarges Street which lead the eye towards Piccadilly in the distance. Pasmore sought artistic discovery, new materials and new ways of creating throughout his career, and in 1948 shifted from realism to abstraction, striving to express personal, subjective emotions through the groundbreaking abstract collages, constructions and geometric forms for which his is best remembered today. Whilst excelling in his own career, Pasmore was an important and impassioned figure in arts education; after co-founding the Euston Road School of Art early in his career, he went on to fulfil several prestigious academic posts before settling in Malta.

Also on offer in the sale are a selection of notable contemporary British art, including “Model in Black” by Jack Vettriano (1951-2025) (estimate: £7,000-10,000). Born into a working-class family of coal miners in Fife, Vettriano’s upbringing was far removed from the fantasy that marks much of his work, which was inspired by old Hollywood glamour and film noir. A mixed media work by Mr Brainwash (b.1966) entitled “Together We Dream” is offered with an estimate of £5,000-7,000, and “Sunrise over Hadleigh, Suffolk” by Maggie Hambling (b. 1945) is offered with an estimate of £1,000-1,500.

Private collections in the sale include over thirty works from the Estate of Piers Browne (1949-2024), such as “Idyllic Wensleydale Hay Time Scene” (estimate: £700-1,000), and a selection of works sold by the family of French impressionist artist Paul Maze (1887-1979), including Garden Scene (estimate: £250-400). A Private Collection of Scottish Art includes “The Mill at Keith, Glen Keith Distillery” by Alberto Morrocco (1917-1998), who was a neighbour of the vendor’s grandparents in Keith (estimate: £3,000-5,000), and “The Summit” by Duncan Shanks (b.1937) (estimate: £1,500-2,500).

Northern Art is well represented with several works by Brian ‘Braaq’ Shields and Geoffrey Key, as well as works by Peter Brook and James Isherwood. Highlights include Brian ‘Braaq’ Shield’s “Runcorn Fair, Won Three Fish on Tuesday, Dead Now Though” (estimate: £5,000-7,000), and “After the Gala, July” by Peter Brook (estimate: £4,000-6,000). From the mining artists of County Durham are Four Miners by Tom McGuinness (1926-2006) (estimate: £1,500-2,500) and “Noon” by Norman Cornish (1919-2014) (estimate: £800-1,200).

Further notable works on offer in the sale include sculptures by Brian Willsher, Sophie Ryder, and Sir Tony Cragg’s “Bust”, which was purchased from the Yorkshire Sculpture Park (estimate: £3,000-5,000). Good prints include those by David Hockney, Julian Opie and “Grey Horse Head” by Dame Elizabeth Frink (estimate: £3,000-5,000). Also of interest are illustrations by Yorkshire artist Emily Sutton and “Pigeon Fancy & Racers” by Mark Hearld (estimate: £700-1,000).

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