Modern & Contemporary Art: February Sale Preview

The market for limited edition signed prints after L.S. Lowry at auction continues to thrive, and a strong selection is on offer in Tennants Auctioneers’ Modern & Contemporary Art Sale on 29^th February. The top lot is a print of ‘Going to the Match’ (estimate: £15,000-20,000 plus buyer’s premium) one of his most famous and sought-after images. Indeed, Tennants currently hold the auction record for Lowry prints with another ‘Going to the Match’, which sold for £22,000 in 2015. A further nine prints after Lowry are on offer in the sale including ‘Pond’ (estimate: £2,000-3,000).

A figure study by Sir Antony Gormley, ‘Over’, is one of several tonal figure studies the artist created using a delicate concoction of dilute ink on paper. The artist was fascinated by the varying tones produced by the interaction of ink on paper, and even created a series using chicory coffee as his medium. The study from one of the finest British sculptors of his generation is entered with an estimate of £7,000-10,000.

A further selection of linocuts from the Estate of Grosvenor School artist Edith Lawrence are in the sale, which include ‘Cricket’ (estimate: £3,000-5,000), and ‘France’ (estimate: £1,200-1,800). The sale also sees the second part of the estate of York sculptor Sally Arnup come under the hammer, following on from the successful sale of Part I in January. Highlights of the animal bronzes include ‘Dalesend Cascade – a Friesian Bull’s Head’ (estimate: £1,000-1,500) and ‘Short-clawed Otter and Crab’ (estimate: £1,000-1,500).

Northern Art is well represented in the sale with a selection of eight works by Pennine artist Peter Brook. Four of the paintings are from the artist’s estate, including ‘In a Fold in the Cheviots’ (estimate: £2,000-3,000) and ‘Classic Pennine Farmhouse with Molehills’ (estimate: £2,500-4,000). Two works by Lancashire-born Geoffrey Key include ‘Rider with Hills’ (estimate: £5,000-8,000), and three limited edition portfolios of etchings by Norman Ackroyd include the ten-etching ‘The Aran Islands’ (estimate: £2,000-3,000)

Further pictures of note include those by Eliot Hodgkin, Ken Howard, James Morrison, David Blackburn, Philip Naviasky and Donald McIntyre. Also in the sale are two private collections: Marie Walker Last and the New Vision Centre Group, and A Private Collection of Textile Designs for David Whitehead & Sons Ltd.

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