Page 69 - Studio International - February 1967

its importance. The demand has been for novelty whether much of it will ultimately prove to be a Harold Romney Marsh near Snargate 174 x 234 in.
at all costs and without effort. Reputations depend valueless excursion into the absurd. The dilemma Signed. Oil on canvas—£420; Grant, Duncan Torso of
no longer on achievement but on publicity. is a new one. Hitherto it has been possible to con- a Woman 121 x n in. On board. Signed—£78 15s;
This is the background of the art-market in the demn a painting on grounds of bad workmanship, Hitchens, Ivon Caves of Green, No. 4 1961 17 x 56 in.
middle of the twentieth century. It is a time when pedestrian vision, or even of lack of sympathy with Signed. Oil On canvas. Exhibited TATE GALLERY-
selection has seldom been more difficult, and the its time. Except for the last, these are now untrust- £682 10s; John, Augustus, R.A. The Arran Isles
fact that works of art wisely chosen have provided, worthy guides, because craftsmanship hardly enters 12 x 19* in. Signed. Oil on panel—£472 10s; Kelly,
until now, the safest anti-inflation hedge has into many works, and, in some cases, who can say Sir Gerald, P.R.A. Sao Ohn Nyunt in a yellow tamein
brought many new buyers into the market. Un- whether the vision is pedestrian or not? In an age 40 x 32 in. Signed. Oil on canvas—£756; Lowry,L. S.,
like a great many people, I find nothing in this to when something from a strip-cartoon is acquired R.A. Study of Kneeling Nude 144 x 104 in. Signed.
deplore. Buyers with an eye to investment value for a national gallery at a higher price than that Charcoal—£73 10s; Man with Umbrella 81 x 4 in. Oil
are necessarily more critical than those who buy on for a good many Old Masters it requires more on board. Signed and dated 1962—£347 10s; Nevinson,
impulse or as a status symbol, and a more critical than ordinary courage to forecast the future. C. R. W., A.R.A. St Ouen: Women Gardening 154 x
approach is urgently necessary. There ought to be 194 in. Signed. Oil on panel-£84; Seago, Edward On
no sacred cows. Not only must we recognize that the Broads 20 x 254 in. Oil on canvas. Signed—
the most admired of artists are quite capable of £136 10s; Sickert, W. R., A.R.A. The New Bedford
producing a good deal of bad work, but the value 1941. 5 x 12 1/4 in. Signed, pen, black ink and black
of any work depends ultimately on the quality of chalk. Exhibited LEICESTER GALLERIES-£52 10S; Spear,
Some recent prices for modern British
the hand and mind which created it. It may be a Ruskin, R.A. At the Local 20* x 154 in. Oil on board.
works realized at Christie's
little unfashionable, in a democratic age, to insist Provenance: LEICESTER GALLERIES-£63; Spencer, Sir
on differences in quality between one mind and Armitage, Kenneth Seated figure 1953 Bronze. 10 in., Stanley, R.A. Cookham Hillside: Portrait of Sylvia
another, but one needs to be very heavily blinkered unique-£273; Churchill, Sir Winston, Hon. R.A. 30 x 20 in. Oil on canvas-£995; Steer, Philip
not to recognize them in every sphere of human The Coast near Antibes 24 x 30 in. This painting is Wilson Low Tide, Maldon 1933 9 x 12 in.
activity. Equality and mediocrity are ultimately included in the Connoisseur catalogue—£7,140; Epstein, Watercolour-£33 10s; The Quay, Maldon 174 x 294 in. Oil
the same thing. Sir Jacob Paul Robeson Height (without base) 121 in. on canvas. Signed and dated 1920-£995; Sutherland,
But to buy wisely means the seeking of permanent Bronze with gilt patina. Black marble base. Illustrated, Graham, O.M. Banana Leaf and Landscape. Water-
values (or, if this is impossible, at least values likely Epstein: An Autobiography. London, 1955—£1,155; colour and gouache. Signed and dated '47. Exhibited,
to be accepted in future) and requires the ability to Gertler, Mark Pomegranates and Handkerchief 184 x 23 VENICE BIENNALE, 1952. Sao Paulo, III Biennal
assess whether the best of modern art is opening a in. Signed and dated '27. Oil on panel. Exhibited Exhibition 1955—£441; Weight, Carel Below Hammer-
way into new dimensions of human experience, or LEICESTER GALLERIES, 1928—£136 10s; Gilman, smith Bridge 12 x 14 in. On board-03 12s.