Lot 120
  • 120

LOW, 'FROGMAN SENSATION', INK AND WATERCOLOUR, 1956

Estimate
1,000 - 1,500 GBP
bidding is closed

Description

  • David Low
  • ‘Frogman Sensation. – Latest’(‘If the Labour Party still refuses to affiliate the British Communists the Russians will conclude officially that the frogman who wrote a dirty word on the keel of their battleship was Gaitskell all the time – Low's Spy’)
  • Paper
324 by 483mm., pen ink and watercolour, signed and inscribed with title, dated ‘15th May 1956’ on reverse, mounted, framed and glazed

Provenance

EXHIBITED:
'Images of Power: From the Jeffrey Archer Cartoon Collection', Monnow Valley Arts, 3 September - 30 October 2011

Literature

Manchester Guardian, 15 May 1956

Condition

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"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

In April 1956, during the first ever official visit by Soviet leadership to a western country, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR Nikita Khrushchev and Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars Nikolai Bulganin arrived in Britain. The Soviet party arrived aboard the Russian warship Ordzhonikidze, docking in Portsmouth. The United States were said to be ‘deeply concerned’ that the Soviets would use the visit to strengthen their relationship with the British Labour Party, led by Hugh Gaitskell. However, the Soviets failed to see eye to eye with the Labour Party, announcing they found it easier to talk to Anthony Eden’s Conservatives. The visit is remembered for a botched MI6 operation to examine Ordzhonikidze. An MI6 diver, Lionel ‘Buster’ Crabb was sent to examine the hull of the ship and was never seen again; his body was never recovered. In 2007, a retired Russian sailor, Eduard Koltsov, claimed that he had killed Crabb.