RECORD-BREAKING PRINTS BY LEADING AUSTRALIAN ARTIST FOR SALE AT BONHAMS, INCLUDE NEVER-BEFORE-SOLD DEPICTION OF PORT ARTHUR, ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S MOST NOTORIOUS PENAL COLONIES
A collection of images by the Australian artist, Ethel Spowers, will be auctioned as part of the Prints sale in the Bonhams New Bond Street saleroom on April 16.
The sale will feature one of the artist’s most unusual prints, never –before- seen at auction. The print, ‘The Island of the Dead’, is a sinister presentation of the cemetery at the notorious Port Arthur penal colony, one of Australia’s most significant heritage sites but a rare subject for artists. It is estimated to sell between £10,000 to £15,000.
Among other highlights will be Spowers’ depiction of rain-soaked umbrellas entitled ‘Wet Afternoon’. The lot marks a pivotal point in Spowers’ creative development and is considered her most important work alongside ‘Gust of Wind’. It is hoped the print will follow the success of ‘Gust of Wind’, which sold in last year’s April Prints sale for a record-breaking £94,000 – six times its estimated value.
First exhibited in 1930, the print shows Spowers’ maturing artistic style following her period under the tutelage of Claude Flight, one of the founders of the Grosvenor School and the leading exponent of modernist linocuts. Under his guidance, Spowers developed her signature artistic style, characterised by simple, reduced colour planes and bold, exuberant patterns as seen in ‘Wet Afternoon’. Another fine example of Spowers’ spell with the Grosvenor School is ‘Giant Stride’ (1932-3), estimated to sell between £20,000 to £30,000
Ethel Spowers was an Australian artist, born in Melbourne in 1890. She attended art schools in Paris and Melbourne, before moving to London in 1929 where she became a student of Claude Flight at the Grosvenor School. Inspired by the modernist aesthetic of the Grosvenor school, Spowers’ ideas took a dramatic turn in the 1930’s. She began to absorb the school’s fresh ideas of design and composition which went on to define her style. Spowers zealously believed in artistic innovation, defending the modernist movement from its critics. In her final years, she stopped her creative practice but continued voluntary work at the Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.
Bonhams
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street and Knightsbridge; and a further three in the UK regions and Scotland. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Carmel, New York and Connecticut in the USA; and Germany, France, Monaco, Hong Kong and Australia. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 60 specialist areas. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments go to www.bonhams.com.
Values stated included buyers’ premium. Details can be found at www.bonhams.com
