Modern art comes to the fore at Newcastle auction

A number of salerooms now are holding specific modern art auctions which it appears are commanding greater interest as tastes and buying patterns change.

One example is Newcastle auction house Anderson & Garland which is holding its latest edition of ‘The Modern Auction’ this week.

The sale on August 20 will offer a wide range of art and design – predominantly furniture and pictures. The latter includes a variety of subjects, styles and also mediums – oil paintings, watercolours, drawings and even collages.

Here we pick out five highlights from the picture section with estimates ranging from £300 to £8000.

1. Piper’s tapestry design

‘A design for a banqueting hall tapestry’ by John Piper – estimated at £5000-8000 at Anderson & Garland.

John Piper (1903-1992) was a painter and printmaker who in 1944 he was appointed an Official War Artist.

He also produced a prolific series of architectural scenes of landmarks around the country that are still much admired and numerous examples appear on the market today.

This 2ft 5in x 20in (74 x 50.5cm) signed mixed media and collage on paper from c.1968 was a design for the Banqueting Hall tapestry at the Civic Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne.

It is estimated at £5000-8000 at Anderson & Garland.

View the catalogue entry for this John Piper work on paper on thesaleroom.com.

2. Norman Cornish watercolour

A street scene in Spennymoor by Norman Cornish – estimated at £2000-4000 at Anderson & Garland.

Norman Stansfield Cornish (1919-2014) was born in Spennymoor, County Durham, and became a miner as a young man along with many of his peers. But, having taught himself to paint, he later joined The Pitman's Academy, an art school where along with the likes of Robert Heslop and Tom McGuinness he began to exhibit his paintings of local scenes depicting the mining community.

He later became a full time artist in 1966 and became known as ‘the last of the pitman painters’.

The Anderson & Garland sale will feature a number of works by artist including this signed watercolour showing a street scene of Spennymoor with figures near a vegetable stall. It is estimated at £2000-4000.

View the catalogue entry for this Norman Cornish watercolour on thesaleroom.com.

3. New York by night

‘Girl on a Fire Escape (Brooklyn Bridge NYC)’ by Kevin Day – estimated at £500-800 at Anderson & Garland.

Kevin Day is a contemporary artist from South Shields. He originally studied illustration but, as a professional artist, his bold stylised paintings have a certain cinematic quality.

Some of his works feature industrial scenes showing coal mining and shipbuilding in and around Newcastle but this 2ft 6in x 3ft 3in (75cm x 1m) signed oil on canvas depicts New York.

Titled Girl on a Fire Escape (Brooklyn Bridge NYC), it is estimated at £500-800 at Anderson & Garland.

View the catalogue entry for this Kevin Day painting on thesaleroom.com.

4. Rowing sketch

‘The Rower (Le Rameur)’, a drawing by Andre Dunoyer de Sigonzac – estimated at £400-600 at Anderson & Garland.

This sketch of a rower is by Andre Dunoyer de Sigonzac (1884-1974), a French artist who was a talented draughtsman and printmaker as well a painter who worked in a range of styles.

He began painting in 1903 and by 1909 was exhibiting regularly at the Salon des Indépendants. After serving in the First World War, where he produced a number of notable trench scenes, he purchased a villa in St Tropez with fellow artists Luc-Albert Moreauad and André Villeboeuf where they produced a series of Mediterranean scenes.

This signed, pen, ink and wash drawing appears to be a rapidly executed sketch. It has provenance to the Gaston Demierre collection and was sold at Christie’s in September 2012.

It is estimated at £400-600 at Anderson & Garland.

View the catalogue entry for this Andre de Sigonzac drawing on thesaleroom.com.

5. Collage from Catalonia

‘Z’, a collage on board by Joan-Josep Tharrats – estimated at £300-500 at Anderson & Garland.

Joan-Josep Tharrats (1918-2001) was a founding member of the Catalonian group of artists and writers known as the Dau al Set. He helped to design and print the group’s magazine and also worked as an art critic for the Barcelona newspaper Revista.

His original works were highly creative and abstract in style – he himself called his paintings ‘maculaturas’ (smudges).

An example of his collages is offered at Anderson & Garland. Titled simply Z, it is dated 1966 and is estimated at £300-500.

View the catalogue entry for this Joan-Josep Tharrats collage on thesaleroom.com.