“Bolton Junction Eccleshill, Bradford”, a rare early mixed media work made by David Hockney when he was just 19, sold for £40,000 in the Modern and Contemporary Art Sale at Tennants Auctioneers on 13th June (all figures exclude buyer’s premium). Tennants' Modern & Contemporary Art Specialist Francesca Young said of the sale:
“It has been a somewhat poignant honour to handle the sale of Bolton Junction, Eccleshill by David Hockney, with the auction taking place less than a day after the news of his death broke. Hockney was not only one of the greatest British artists of the 20th century, but a true Yorkshire icon. We had seen considerable national and international interest in the painting in the weeks leading up to the sale, which it well deserved. Some of the interest came from the region, including from Bradford itself. Despite his global success, he remained a humble character and a true Yorkshireman, which has endeared him to hearts of the people of Yorkshire.”
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. In 1954 a young Hockney, much enthused by starting at Bradford Regional College of Art the previous year, drew and painted scenes of everyday life around his home in Bradford. Enamoured with art, he had persuaded his parents to let him leave grammar school at 16 to pursue his passion. Malcolm Riley taught the young Hockney perspective at the college circa 1955/1956, and the lessons he learned are certainly evident in the present work, with the salient lines of the street scene deftly mapped giving a sense of receding space and volume with a few simple marks.
The sale overall offered a strong selection of Northern Art, with bidders from the region and beyond competing for works by leading artists from the North East and Yorkshire. A selection of works by mining artist Norman Cornish sold well throughout, with highlights including Miners Going to Work (sold for £3,200), “The Gantry” (sold for £2,400) and a small mixed media work “Bar Maid” (sold for £1,800). Three works by Huddersfield-born contemporary artist Maxwell Doig were also offered; Doig is known for atmospheric paintings and mixed-media works that explore memory, landscape, and emotion, and his “Late Afternoon, Flamborough Head Lighthouse” sold well at £4,200. Further notable results for norther artists included Fred Yates’ The Passing Train (sold for £5,200), and two portraits of women by Joash Woodrow, which sold for £1,550 each. Strong results were also seen for works by Fred Cecil Jones from a private collection of Yorkshire pictures, and his depiction of “Tadcaster, Yorkshire” sold for £2,200, and “Pudsey between Leeds and Bradford” sold for £2,000.
Ceramics by Pablo Picasso included Wood-Owl, an ‘Edition Picasso’ owl-form jug inspired by the little owl he found and cared for during a summer spent in Antibes in 1946 (sold for £3,500), and Tête Polychrome an ‘Edition Picasso’ painted plaque in the form of a face (sold for £3,800). A good price was also achieved for Elephant Amongst Foliage by David Shepherd (sold for £6,500).
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