Your chance to bid for a work by one of the most distinctive, intriguing and gifted British sculptors
26 May 2023 The Woolley & Wallis Modern British & 20th Century Art auction on June 7 features over 400 lots of 20th-century and contemporary art.
The Eric Kennington work Bacchus, brass c.1922-24, 34 x 17 x 17.5cm, is estimated at £5000-7000. It has a provenance to Sir Alan Patrick Herbert (1890-1971); property of Eric Kennington; and by family descent. It featured in Jonathan Black, The Sculpture of Eric Kennington (Lund Humphries, 2002), and was exhibited in London, Leicester Galleries, Sculpture and Other works by Eric Kennington, October 1924; and London, Picture Hire Gallery, Paintings, Drawings and Sculptures by Eric Kennington, April-May 1936. Check out the Eric Kennington work Bacchus at thesaleroom.com.
The sale begins with a group of works formerly in the collection of Eric Kennington (1888-1960), who has been described as ‘one of the most distinctive, intriguing, gifted and thought-provoking’ British sculptors of the early 20th century.
The collection includes examples of Kennington’s sculpture, paintings and drawings, as well as works by his father, Thomas Benjamin Kennington (1856-1916), and it provides a rare insight into the life and career of one of the most talented artists working in early 20th-century Britain.
Other highlights include two sculptures and an oil painting by Michael Ayrton (1921-1975); a large group of works by Mary Fedden (1915-2012) reflecting the breadth and diversity of her career; a previously unpublished still-life by Frances Hodgkins (1869-1947); and a rare opportunity to acquire the complete set of Edward Bawden’s (1903-1989) London Markets series.
Here are five ideas on what Eric Kennington works to buy at varying price points in the Woolley & Wallis Modern British & 20th Century Art auction.
Family values
Estimated at £3000-5000, this is an Eric Kennington Portrait of Christopher Kennington (b.1925), the artist’s son, holding a dish. In lead, it measures 59 x 34.5 x 36.5cm, and comes to auction by family descent. Bid for the Eric Kennington Portrait of Christopher Kennington via thesaleroom.com.
Open door
Guided at £500-800, this oil on board by Eric Kennington is the View through an open doorway, possibly Homer House, Ipsden, the artist’s home. Measuring 29.3 x 18.8cm, it is consigned by family descent. Use thesaleroom.com to bid for Eric Kennington's View through an open doorway.
History makers
Shown here are Eric Kennington’s Portrait of TE Lawrence, ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ (1888-1935); Portrait of Auda Abu Tayi; and Portrait of Mahmas, estimated together at £800-1200. They are signed Eric H Kennington (to label); signed, dated and inscribed Auda abu Tayi A*****1922/Eric H Kennington (in pen lower centre); and signed, dated and inscribed Mahmas (The coffee spoon) ***1922/Eric H Kennington (upper centre) respectively. Each collotype format, the former artist’s proof is number 8 of 100; the others a colour proof. The largest is 48.2 x 38.2cm; smallest 24.9 x 18.4cm. Consigned by family descent, the 'Auda abu Tayi' and 'Mahams' works were exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery Lawrence of Arabia exhibition, 1988-89. Bid for Portrait of TE Lawrence; Portrait of Auda Abu Tayi; and Portrait of Mahmas using thesaleroom.com.
Something about a boy
Estimated at £500-700 are Eric Kennington’s Studies of Ian Duncan Struthers (1915-44), the artist's nephew, as a boy, signed E KENNINGTON 20 (lower centre), in charcoal on conjoined sheets, 29.7 x 39.8cm, and a reproduction print after the above. You can view Eric Kennington’s Studies of Ian Duncan Struthers on thesaleroom.com.
