Amanda Bradley Petitgas's Top Picks

No. 1

Lot 27: λ Harry Epworth Allen (British 1894-1958), Derbyshire Hills, Watercolour | Est. £1,000-1,500 (+ fees)

"Harry Epworth Allen was severely injured during the Great War and as such had an artificial leg. I like to think that painting landscapes such as this was a kind of therapy, in which he revelled in the subtle gradations of colour in the landscape. The hillscape has become an almost abstract exploration of form."

No. 2

Lot 31: Rex Whistler (British 1905-1944), Design for a 1936 Post Office Telegram, Watercolour, ink and pencil on paper laid down to board | Est. £1,500-2,500 (+ fees)

"Rex Whistler was the muralist 'du choix' of the most exacting of collectors, such as Maud Russell and Sir Philip Sassoon. How lovely it would have been to have received a message on one of these, adorned with fulsome English roses. They could only have been used for declarations of love."

No. 3

Lot 36: λ Eric Kennington (British 1888-1960), Study of a Soldier, Red chalk heightened with white | Est. £700-1,000 (+ fees)

"Stanley Spencer drew a number of portraits of his fellow serviceman during the Great War, which are moving evocations of the humanity of war. It was enlightened of the WAAC to commission Kennington to do the same during the Second World War. This is a particularly sensitive example, demonstrating his masterful handling of red chalk and white heightening."

No. 4

Lot 49: Stanley Spencer's Bible, 1918, 9th battalion, Royal Berkshire Regiment, British Salonika Forces | Est. £800-1,200 (+ fees)

"Stanley Spencer went off to war on the Salonikan front with his treasured Gowans & Gray sixpence pocket books (“[with] Giotto…, Fra Angelico in one pocket, and Masaccio, Masolineo and Giorgione in the other”). His other treasured possession was this Bible, the source of not only spiritual sustenance but also – fused with inspiration from his art books – the source of the visionary paintings that he was to paint on his return from war."

No. 5

Lot 73: λ Sir Stanley Spencer (British 1891-1959), letter to Hilda Carline | Est. £4,000-6,000 (+ fees)

"This letter is not only a visual testament to Spencer’s love for his first wife, Hilda Carline, but is suggestive of the obsessive nature that resulted in the genius of his artistic output. Spencer’s relationship with Hilda was complex, but their separation was ultimately the result of his infatuation with another woman. Hilda remained, however, the love of Spencer’s life and he continued to write to her even after her death."

No. 6

Lot 133: λ Algernon Newton (British 1880-1968), Passing Storm, Regent's Canal, Oil on canvas | Est. £20,000-30,000 (+ fees)

"Algernon Newton’s otherworldly townscapes, of uncertain mood, often remind me of Spencer’s mysterious spaces in the background of his paintings, which for him assumed a spiritual significance. Newton’s glacial style, often compared to Canaletto, is equally poetic, celebrating beauty in the unexpected."

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Auction Details

Thursday 10 July, 10.30am BST
Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE

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VIEWING IN LONDON (HIGHLIGHTS)
Friday 27 June: 10am-4pm
Monday 30 June: 10am-4pm
Tuesday 1 July: 10am-4pm

VIEWING IN NEWBURY (FULL SALE)
Sunday 6 July: 10am-3pm
Monday 7 July: 10am-4pm
Tuesday 8 July: 10am-4pm
Wednesday 9 July: 10am-4pm

FURTHER INFORMATION: 
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