April 2022 saw another strong performance for our Contemporary & Post War Art // Prints & Multiples sales, achieving a total of £541,875* across an 80% selling rate.
Highlights included a strong showing for two paintings from Callum Innes’ Exposed Paintings series, reaching £27,500* and £21,250* respectively. A fantastic 1950s oil on board by John Bratby made an impressive £27,500* – one of the strongest results for the artist in many years.
Callum Innes is recognised as one of the UK’s foremost contemporary painters as supported by his highly regarded international reputation. His Exposed Paintings exemplify what has been described as Innes’ “painting and un-painting” technique. The works embody balance and tension: between the application and subtraction of materials, between simplicity and complexity, between meticulous technique and serendipitous outcomes.
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Bratby was the brilliant, if problematic, breakout star of the so-called ‘Kitchen Sink’ or “New Realist” artistic genre; a movement born out of the grey rubble and grinding drabness of post war Britain. In 1958, Bratby was commissioned to produce large scale paintings for the film The Horses Mouth based on Joyce Cary's novel. Untitled (For 'The Horse's Mouth) is part of a group of paintings associated with the film and the following solo exhibition in New York at The French Gallery on Madison Avenue; Bratby's first in New York.
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On the Prints & Multiples side of our April 2022 auction, Modern British artists yielded the keenest interest, with the wonderful Triptych – 1983 set of lithographs by the inimitable Francis Bacon hammering for £27,500*. Triptych – 1983 encompasses many of Bacon’s preoccupations and dates from a significant period in his career, when he was an established artist, highly regarded and with an array of international exhibitions behind him. Four works by the iconic Abstract artist Victor Pasmore also attracting competitive bidding across telephone and internet platforms.
View the full auction results ⇒
The Contemporary team are now seeking consignments for their August sale. Consigned works so far include artists Sarah Lucas, John Byrne, James Morrison, Callum Innes, the Chapman Brothers, Banksy, Grayson Perry, David Shrigley, Tracey Emin, Eduardo Paolozzi and Pablo Picasso.
Lyon & Turnbull are delighted to offer Modern and Contemporary editioned prints and multiples within our Contemporary & Post-War Art // Prints & Multiples and MODERN MADE auctions.
An exciting and developing area of the market, Prints & Multiples are popular with new and seasoned collectors alike.
At Lyon & Turnbull, we handle prints from a wide variety of artists: from 20th century masters Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and Joan Miro through to the British canon of printmakers including Dame Laura Knight, L.S. Lowry, Edward Bawden, all the way to David Hockney and Howard Hodgkin. Our auctions encompass printmaking created up to and including the present day, with artists currently working in these mediums, such as Tracey Emin, David Shrigley, Banksy and the Connor Brothers.
Characterised by competitive bidding, strong results and a high selling rate, our Contemporary & Post-War Art sales are among our most popular auctions. Held three times a year in our Scottish saleroom, highlights are also regularly exhibited in our London gallery. Our strong private client base and excellent international marketing reach has seen these sales grow into flagships of our company.
Encompassing works by both emerging and internationally regarded contemporary artists and sculptors, we have achieved top prices for household names including John Hoyland (a world record), Bridget Riley, Eduardo Paolozzi (a world record for a sculpture), Terry Frost, Nicholas Party, Alison Watt and Callum Innes. Regularly featured local favourites include John Bellany and the ‘New Glasgow Boys’ Peter Howson, Ken Currie, Steven Campbell, as well as John Byrne and Alasdair Gray.
CHARLOTTE RIORDAN | HEAD OF CONTEMPORARY & POST-WAR ART
0131 557 8844
charlotte.riordan@lyonandturnbull.com
CARLY SHEARER | HEAD OF PRINTS & MULTIPLES
0131 557 8844
carly.shearer@lyonandturnbull.com