L12142

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Lot 5
  • 5

John Craxton, R.A.

Estimate
60,000 - 80,000 GBP
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Description

  • John Craxton, R.A.
  • ELEGIAC FIGURE (IN MEMORY OF PETER WATSON)
  • signed and dated 57-59
  • tempera on board
  • 121 by 102.5cm.; 47½ by 40½in.

Provenance

The Artist, by whom sold to the Redfern Gallery, London, 1985
Jonathan Clark & Co., London, where acquired by the present owner

Exhibited

London, Leicester Galleries, John Craxton, May 1961, cat. no.13;
London, Whitechapel Art Gallery, John Craxton, Paintings and Drawings 1941 - 1966, January - February 1967, unnumbered catalogue, illustrated.

Literature

Malcolm Yorke, The Spirit of Place: Nine Neo-Romantic Artists and Their Times, Tauris Parke Paperbacks, London, 2001, illustrated p.317;
Ian Collins, John Craxton, Lund Humphries, Farnham, 2011, p.122, illustrated pl.150.

Condition

Unexamined out of frame. Stable board. There are areas of craquelure to areas throughout the work, mostly notably towards the top half of the composition, and including but not restricted to the thicker areas of green just above the top of the figure; the shoulder, neck and ear area, extending down to the face and top of the hand; the central green area visible through the opened elbow; and the lower back. A further area of very minor cracking is visible in a small risen area to the upper right edge, in line with what appears to be an old nail head. Ultraviolet light reveals pigments which fluoresce which are the hand of the artist. The nature of these pigments may mask old retouchings, but there are none visible to our inspection. Housed behind Perspex in a thick gilt-wood frame. Unexamined out of frame. Please telephone the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

'My friendship with Peter Watson really began in 1941. Due to the war he had been forced to leave his flat in Paris with its collection of paintings, and had installed himself in a flat in 10 Palace Gate, London. I remember when I called there Colquhoun and MacBryde were temporarily in residence, on the walls were ‘Entrance to a Lane’ and ‘Gorse on a Sea Wall’ by Sutherland, a marvellous Christopher Wood, Picasso's ‘Minotauromachy’ to name but a few. Lucian and I were often there, going through old Cahiers d'Art, Minotaur, and Verve. Peter's records were also a revelation to me. I could listen to Stravinsky, Berg, Bartok, Hindemith and Jean Francaix for the first time. In 1942 he encouraged me to find a studio and send him the bill. Lucian jointed me in sharing a maisonette in St. Johns Wood.' (John Craxton, letter postmarked 16th June 1986, reproduced Tate Gallery website)

Peter Watson (1908-1956) was a pivotal 1940s collector of beautiful things and brilliant young men – co-founding the Horizon review of literature and art and the Institute of Contemporary Arts, as well as funding Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon. For John Craxton he was “the key to everything”. His premature death prompted the painting of this heart-felt tribute, which evolved not only between the given dates but through the 1960s also. The piece was considerably revised after its inclusion in Craxton’s Whitechapel Gallery retrospective of 1967.

We are very grateful to Ian Collins for his kind assistance in the cataloguing of the present work. Ian Collins is currently preparing the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the Artist's work and would like to hear from owners of any work by the artist so that these can be included in this comprehensive catalogue. Please write to Ian Collins, c/o Sotheby's, Modern & Post-War British Art, London, W1A 2AA.