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Walter Ernest Spradbery (1889 - 1969)
Temple Church and Library after Bombardment (1944)
Lithograph 66 x 57 cm Walter Spradbery's poster for the London Underground depicting a bombed Temple Church; a rainbow strikes hopefully out of the church's remains, and the sun shines on the golden stone of the building. The full poster bears the legend 'The Proud City' above Spradbery's design, and, beneath it, a quote from Charles Lamb: 'So may the winged horse, your ancient badge and cognisance, still flourish!'. This is a fantastic piece of British and London history, as well as a fantastically designed poster by a notable 20th century artist. The London Transport Museum has a copy of the poster, reference 1983/4/5751. 'The Proud City' was a series of six posters, all designed by Spradbery. They were commissioned by London Transport in 1944 as a defiant celebration of London's surviving the Blitz, and each poster also included a literary quotation. Walter Ernest Spradbery was a designer, painter, and poet who lived through the First and Second World Wars. He produced posters for LNER, Southern Railways, and London Transport, and was noted for his fascination with architecture and landscape. He studied, and later taught, at the Walthamstow School of Art. He was a pacifist and campaigned for nuclear disarmament, serving in the Medical Corps during the First World War and painting scenes of warfare for its duration, as well as during the Second World War. His anti-war stance and the horrors he had witnessed as a medic fed into his post-war poster design, especially 'The Proud City' poster series. Condition: generally very good. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. -
Paul Ayshford Methuen (1886 - 1974)
Barrage Balloons, Regents Park, 9 March 1940
Oil on board 36 x 52 cm Signed lower left and titled and dated lower centre. Lord Methuen's oil painting of Regent's Park on a winter's day, with barrage balloons above. Barrage balloons were set up - stationed at an altitude of around 4,000 ft - as a barrier to enemy aircraft. The steel cables used to tether the balloons would take an enemy aeroplane out of the sky if it were to hit the cable. The UK had thousands of them, filled partly with hydrogen and operated largely by women, to protect significant towns, cities, and military installations. These strange blobs floated over the country, just asking to be captured by artists. Methuen had rejoined his regiment (serving as a Captain) in 1939 but was likely stationed in London for a while, when he might have had the opportunity to capture this scene. When Methuen painted the scene in 1940, Britain was still in the stage of the phoney war. The Battle of Britain did not commence until 10 July, and the Blitz not until 7 September - but Britain's defences were ready. Barrage balloons were important all the way through the War: they defended London against the V2 missiles; they defended the D-Day invasion fleet; and they protected the invasion army for months. Indeed, it was said that the vast amount of material brought into the UK from the States prior to D-Day would have caused Britain to sink under the sea, were it not for the huge number of barrage balloons holding the country up... Condition: excellent. Recently revarnished. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. -
Ken Howard RA (1932 - 2022)
Hampstead Church (St Stephen's Church, Rosslyn Hill)
Oil on board 75 x 91 cm Ken Howard's magnificent view of St Stephen's Church, Hampstead. The artist's rich, deep colour palette and use of impasto underline the neo-gothic style of the church. Howard died in Hampstead and painted several views of the area and its architecture. St Stephen's was designed in the Neo Gothic style by Samuel Sanders Teulon and he considered it the best of the 114 churches he designed, calling it his "mighty church". The building is no longer a church, but wedding ceremonies still take place there; it was made a Grade I listed building in 1974. Kenneth Howard OBE RA was a British artist and painter. He was President of the New English Art Club from 1998 to 2003. He studied at the Hornsey College of Art and the Royal College of Art. In 1958 he won a British Council Scholarship to Florence, and in 1973 and 1978 he was the Official War Artist to Northern Ireland, and 1973 - 80 worked in various locations, including Hong Kong, Cyprus and Canada with the British Army. In 1983 he was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy (ARA). In 1998 he became President of the New English Art Club, a post he held until 2003. In 1991 he was elected a Royal Academician (RA). Howard was given his OBE in 2010. Condition: very good. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. -
Richard Beer (1928 - 2017)
Volterra
Etching and aquatint 60 x 45 cm Titled and numbered 4/70 lower left, and signed lower right, both in pencil. Beer's yellow-hued view of Volterra, a mountain town in Tuscany. Overseen by the beating Italian sun, a church perches atop a hill marked by trees and rocky outcrops. Born in London in 1928, just too late to serve in the Second World War, Richard Beer studied between 1945 - 1950 at the Slade School. Subsequently, a French Government scholarship allowed him to spend time in Paris at Atelier 17, working under Stanley William Hayter (1901 - 1988), one of the most significant print makers of the 20th Century – having spent the War in New York, advising as a camofleur, Hayter only returned to Paris in 1950. Subsequently Beer studied at the École des Beaux Arts, Paris. Working for John Cranko, choreographer for the Royal Ballet, Beer designed the sets and costumes for his The Lady and the Fool at Covent Garden, subsequently working for him following his move in 1961 to Stuttgart Ballet. Additionally he produced book illustrations and designed book jackets. Beer later taught print-making at the Chelsea School of Art, where he was a popular teacher. Probably his greatest work was a collaboration with John Betjeman to produce a portfolio of prints of ten Wren Churches in the City for Editions Alecto, copies of which are in The Government Art Collection. That collection contains a total of 54 prints by Beer, and the Tate Gallery’s collection holds seven. His Oxford series was also produced for Editions Alecto as was a series of predominantly architectural views in Southern Europe. Most of his prints are of architectural subjects. Condition: very good. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. -
John Barnicoat MA ARCA (1924 - 2013)
Untitled abstract composition (1968)
Tempera on board 27 x 26 cm Initialled and dated lower right. John Barnicoat was a painter of oils and works on paper using tempera, conté, acrylic, pen, and ink. He was brought up in Cornwall and educated at King’s College, Taunton. He joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserves and took part in D-Day, aged 29. He went on to read history at Lincoln College, Oxford, and also studied at the Ruskin School of Drawing. He attended the Royal College of Art in the early 1950s, eventually becoming the Senior Tutor at the RCA Painting School between 1976 and 1980. He was the head of Falmouth School of Art 1972 - 1976 and Head of the Chelsea School of Art 1980 - 1989. He wrote 'Posters: a Concise History' in 1972, and organised and curated exhibitions in the UK and Russia on the art of poster design. From 1989 onwards he produced numerous drawings and oils of the bridges of London, women’s heads, acrylic and conté works on paper, and pen and wash drawings of women dressing. His work is represented in both government and private collections, and was recently shown at The Belgrave Gallery, St Ives (2017 - 2022). Condition: very good. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. -
Brendan Neiland (b. 1941) RA (Expelled)
Leeds (1991)
Lithographic poster 101 x 71 cm Signed 'Brendan Neiland 1991' and inscribed 'to Alan best wishes', both in pencil. Proof copy poster complete with large margins and printer's colour bars etc, which can be hidden under mount when framed. Neiland is known for his interpretations of city life. His work is widely exhibited in major museums and galleries worldwide including, in Britain, the Victoria and Albert Museum, The Tate Gallery London, The Collections of the British Council and the Arts Council of Great Britain. He is represented by the Redfern Gallery and has had numerous shows internationally, including at the Galerie Belvedere in Singapore, who represent him in Singapore and the Far East. Reflected architecture is one of Neiland’s most recurring themes. Condition: very good. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other works by Brendan Neiland. -
Brendan Neiland (b. 1941) R.A. (Expelled)
Waterloo International (1993)
Lithographic poster 101 x 60 cm Signed 'Brendan Neiland', numbered I/XII, and inscribed 'To Bob Reid' (Reid was Chairman of the British Railways Board from 1990 until 1995; he was present at Waterloo International Station prior to the opening of the Channel Tunnel). Neiland is known for his interpretations of city life. His work is widely exhibited in major museums and galleries worldwide including, in Britain, the Victoria and Albert Museum, The Tate Gallery London, The Collections of the British Council and the Arts Council of Great Britain. He is represented by the Redfern Gallery and has had numerous shows internationally, including at the Galerie Belvedere in Singapore, who represent him in Singapore and the Far East. Reflected architecture is one of Neiland’s most recurring themes. Condition: very good. If you are interested, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other works by Brendan Neiland. -
John Piper (1903-1992)
Westminster School I (1961)
49 x 63 cm Signed lower right and numbered 66/100 lower left in pencil. Piper's skilled and characterful rendering of Westminster School's gateway, sometimes known as Burlington's Arch. The historic entrance to the school dates from 1734 and is carved with the names of former pupils. John Piper CH was an English painter, printmaker, and designer of stained-glass windows. His work often focused on the British landscape, especially churches and monuments, and included tapestry designs, book jackets, screen-prints, photography, fabrics and ceramics. Condition: Generally very good, gentle even toning to the paper. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. -
John Piper (1903-1992)
Westminster School II (1961)
42 x 59 cm Signed lower right and numbered 86/100 lower left in pencil. Piper’s second view of Westminster School; both views were commissioned by the school in 1981. Here he depicts Grant's House, with College on the far left and Rigaud’s House on the right. The view is serene and silent, set against a night sky the colour of stone, mimicking the buildings below. John Piper CH was an English painter, printmaker, and designer of stained-glass windows. His work often focused on the British landscape, especially churches and monuments, and included tapestry designs, book jackets, screen-prints, photography, fabrics and ceramics. Condition: generally very good; a little age toning. A few spots to margins. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for other works by John Piper CH. -
Edward Burra (1905 - 1976)
Café
(1928 - 1929, this edition published 1971) Woodcut 10 x 15 cm; sheet size 24 x 34 cm Numbered 15/45 lower left and initialled EB lower right. Published by the Nicholas Treadwell Gallery in 1971. Burra's woodcut of a male and a female figure, entitled 'Café'. The two figures, seemingly a couple, gaze at one another intensely and intimately, giving the impression of having been interrupted by the viewer. Both figures' faces bear tattoo-like markings: he a star and the moon, she a geometric design resembling a noughts-and-crosses board. The "café" in which they sit is a dreamily abstract landscape full of palms and other plants from the tropics. Edward Burra was an English painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. He travelled to Italy in 1925, the same year he met the noted British Surrealist Paul Nash, and both of these influences are evident in this woodcut. Nash introduced Burra to woodcut-making in 1928, the same year that Burra began this woodcut series. His first solo show was held at the Leicester Galleries in April 1929, and he exhibited with the English Surrealists in the 1930s. Condition: Excellent. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. -
Edward Burra (1905 - 1976)
The Guitar Player
(1928 - 1929, this edition published 1971) Woodcut 15 x 10 cm; sheet size 34 x 24 cm Numbered 15/45 lower left and initialled EB lower right. Burra's woodcut of a female guitar player surrounded by a landscape of cacti. A bunch of grapes is pendent beside her triangular earring, and a male figure in a wide-brimmed hats stands in the field nearby. Edward Burra was an English painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. He travelled to Italy in 1925, the same year he met the noted British Surrealist Paul Nash, and both of these influences are evident in this woodcut. Nash introduced Burra to woodcut-making in 1928, the same year that Burra began this woodcut series. His first solo show was held at the Leicester Galleries in April 1929, and he exhibited with the English Surrealists in the 1930s. Condition: Excellent. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. -
Angela Stones (1914 - 1995)
Old London Bridge Fantasia (1968)
Oil on board 56 x 43 cm Signed lower left. A fantasia inspired by Old London Bridge on the Thames. The grey dome of St Paul's peeps over the bridge; bright lights burn in the background, throwing yellows and red reflections onto the water. Moored boats bob gently in the foreground. Stones was educated at the Chelsea School of Art, and was a member of an artistic dynasty. Her mother Dorothy Bradshaw (1893-1983) studied under Jack Merriott – the artist famous for his British Rail posters, and her son, Christopher Assheton-Stones (1947-1999), was arguably the foremost pastel artist of his time. Provenance: the family of the artist. Condition: very good. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. -
Angela Stones (1914 - 1995)
Irises
Oil on board 56 x 41 cm Signed lower right. A glass jar of irises, with two shells, on a pale pink and peach backdrop. Stones'' impasto technique brings texture to the shells and petals, and shades of purple offset the greens and pinks of the composition. Stones was educated at the Chelsea School of Art, and was a member of an artistic dynasty. Her mother Dorothy Bradshaw (1893-1983) studied under Jack Merriott – the artist famous for his British Rail posters, and her son, Christopher Assheton-Stones (1947-1999), was arguably the foremost pastel artist of his time. Provenance: the family of the artist. Condition: very good. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. -
Angela Stones (1914 - 1995)
Still Life with Coffee Pot and Fruit
Oil on board 41 x 51 cm Signed lower right. Provenance: the family of the artist. A mid-century still life in oils, characterised by Stones' textured brushwork, inventive composition, and rich use of colour. Stones was educated at the Chelsea School of Art, and was a member of an artistic dynasty. Her mother Dorothy Bradshaw (1893-1983) studied under Jack Merriott – the artist famous for his British Rail posters, and her son, Christopher Assheton-Stones (1947-1999), was arguably the foremost pastel artist of his time. Condition: very good. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for more still lifes. -
Angela Stones (1914 - 1995)
Still Life with Mushrooms
Oil on board 41 x 51 cm Signed lower right. Provenance: the family of the artist. A dark, characterful mid-century still life in oils, characterised by Stones' textured brushwork and rich use of colour. Stones was educated at the Chelsea School of Art, and was a member of an artistic dynasty. Her mother Dorothy Bradshaw (1893-1983) studied under Jack Merriott – the artist famous for his British Rail posters, and her son, Christopher Assheton-Stones (1947 - 1999), was arguably the foremost pastel artist of his time. Condition: very good. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for more still lifes. -
Angela Stones (1914 - 1995)
Still Life with Pineapple
Oil on board 41 x 51 cm Signed lower left. Provenance: the family of the artist. A dark, characterful mid-century still life in oils, characterised by Stones' textured brushwork and rich use of colour. Stones was educated at the Chelsea School of Art, and was a member of an artistic dynasty. Her mother Dorothy Bradshaw (1893-1983) studied under Jack Merriott – the artist famous for his British Rail posters, and her son, Christopher Assheton-Stones (1947 - 1999), was arguably the foremost pastel artist of his time. Condition: very good. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. Click here for more still lifes. -
Angela Stones (1914 - 1995)
Still Life with Fruit and Milk Bottle
Oil on board 41 x 51 cm Signed lower left. A mid-century still life in oils, characterised by Stones' textured brushwork and use of vivid colours. Stones was educated at the Chelsea School of Art, and was a member of an artistic dynasty. Her mother Dorothy Bradshaw (1893-1983) studied under Jack Merriott – the artist famous for his British Rail posters, and her son, Christopher Assheton-Stones (1947-1999), was arguably the foremost pastel artist of his time. Provenance: the family of the artist. Condition: very good. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. -
Angela Stones (1914 - 1995)
From Battersea Bridge (before Redevelopment)
Oil on board 40 x 50 cm Stones' view of the Thames and Chelsea Bridge, painted from Battersea Bridge. The artist's use of impasto, particularly evident in her depiction of the rambunctious white clouds above the bridge, lends a liveliness to the painting. Stones was educated at the Chelsea School of Art, and was a member of an artistic dynasty. Her mother Dorothy Bradshaw (1893-1983) studied under Jack Merriott – the artist famous for his British Rail posters, and her son, Christopher Assheton-Stones (1947-1999), was arguably the foremost pastel artist of his time. Provenance: the family of the artist. Condition: very good. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056. -
Angela Stones (1914 - 1995)
Still Life with Fruit and Coffee Pot
Oil on board 41 x 51 cm Signed lower right. A sophisticated mid-century still life, characterised by gleaming coffee pot and brimming fruit bowl. The rich red of the apples communicates with the scarlet of the draperies and Stones' signature, just as the bluish-purple hues of the grapes do with the glinting metal of the coffee pot and the blue book on which it stands. Stones was educated at the Chelsea School of Art, and was a member of an artistic dynasty. Her mother Dorothy Bradshaw (1893-1983) studied under Jack Merriott – the artist famous for his British Rail posters, and her son, Christopher Assheton-Stones (1947-1999), was arguably the foremost pastel artist of his time. Provenance: the family of the artist. Condition: very good. If you’d like to know more, please email info@manningfineart.co.uk or call us on 07929 749056.
