Lots 1-34 represent a unique collection of works from Marie Walker Last and the New Vision Centre Gallery Artists
Her collection includes works by close friend and mentor, Denis Bowen, collaborator Aubrey Williams, and colleague, the Canadian artist and war veteran, William Newcombe, who exhibited in the UK with Jean-Paul Riopelle and Paul-Emile Borduas.
This collection was put together by Marie herself; she chose to live with these paintings for over 50 years and it is with much family pride, tinged with sadness, that we see its dispersal to be enjoyed by a wider audience in the years to come.
JD Walker, Nephew of the late Marie Walker Last
New Vision 1956-1966
The New Vision Centre Gallery (NVCG) was founded by three members of the New Vision Group of painters - Denis Bowen, Halima Nalecz and Frank Avray Wilson.
The gallery premises were located in basement rooms of 4 Seymour Place, Marble Arch. Halima Nalecz, who also founded the Drian Gallery, left the partnership in 1962 whilst Frank Avray Wilson left in 1960. As a result of this the art critic Kenneth Coutts Smith became a co-director with Denis Bowen in 1964.
This innovative gallery was devoted to non-figurative art and from the start drew in artists from both overseas and the UK. The policy was to show young artists with a special interest in "Tachisme" (European non-geometric abstract art of the 1940/1950's) and Art Informel and give the opportunity of one-man shows to associated artists, even if held concurrently. Unusually for such a small gallery, descriptive catalogues were published for individual shows, promoting abstract and avant-garde art in Britain at a time when such work was barely understood by critics, let alone by the general public. The NVCG became central in providing an important platform for the development of young, talented and avant-garde artists of the period.
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Isgan Baz (b.1918) Turkish
Abstract
Signed and dated (19)58, mixed media on paper, 49cm by 27cm
Born in 1918 at Gaziantap in Turkey, Baz received his BA from the University of Istanbul and went onto spend two years studying in Paris before he came to London in 1950.
His one-man shows include those held at:
The Drian Gallery London, 1957 & 1959
New Vision Centre Gallery, 1959 & 1962
and various international shows held between 1957 and 1961
His work is represented in the permanent collections of The National Gallery of Israel and in private collections in Paris, Ankara, London and Australia.
'Each painting has the underlying source of light and appears as if indestructible, diffused beneath the dramatic shadowing…..a kind of lyrical nostalgia…making dramatic structures'
D A Duerden £70 - 100
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✓ Arturo Cavalli (b.1914) Italian
Abstract
Signed and dated 1960, mixed media on paper, 60cm by 41cm
Arturo Cavalli was born in Busseto in 1914. His father died when he was six and from that time until he was fourteen he lived in an orphanage of Parma. Once his formal education was completed, he moved to Milan.
Cavalli was active in the Resistance Movement during the World War II and immediately afterwards went to London, where he was very taken with the museums and art galleries. Returning to Italy in 1948 he decided to dedicate himself completely to painting and soon became recognised as one of the outstanding figures of post-war Italian art, working from his studio in Milan.
Exhibitions of his works have been held in Milan, Rome and Viareggio, and his paintings have been included in collective showings in Great Britain, Germany, the United States and Italy. The New Vision Centre Gallery hosted his first one-man exhibition in May 1960. £80 - 120
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✓ Denis Bowen ARCA (1921-2006)
Abstract
Signed and dated 1961, inscribed "To Marie Walker (Last)", mixed media on paper, 74cm by 54cm
Bowen was born in Kimberley, South Africa in 1921. He studied at Huddersfield School of Art, having returned to England at an early age and was encouraged to further his studies in London by his tutor, Reginald Napier.
His artistic training was interrupted by six years of naval war service, after which he entered the Royal College of Art in 1946, followed by teaching posts in London from 1950-61, in addition to exhibiting in London galleries. By 1956 Bowen and Frank Avray Wilson opened the New Vision Centre Gallery (NVCG) and Bowen exhibited his own work, as well as organising exhibitions for other artists. In 1957 he staged an important exhibition at the Redfern Gallery, London entitled "Metavisual, Tachiste, Abstract" - Bowen was also included in the Redfern Gallery artists' Nine Exhibition in Paris - "La Peinture Britanique Contemporaine" of 1957.
With the closure of the New Vision Centre Gallery in the mid 1960's, Bowen continued to teach, whilst consolidating his exhibition opportunities, particularly overseas. From 1969 he produced more experimental work including the use of music, light effects and live performance into his output, and later works in the 1980's showed a strong planetary influence in his paintings. £200 - 300
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✓ Denis Bowen ARCA (1921-2006)
Abstract
Signed and dated 2005, inscribed verso, mixed media, 14cm by 20cm £100 - 200
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✓ Alan Gummerson (b.1928)
Abstract
Signed and inscribed to label verso, mixed media, 18cm by 24cm
Alan Gummerson was a multi-talented artist being adept at painting, printmaking and sculpting.
He was born at Bradford Moor and studied art at Bradford Art College from 1945-47. He went on to teach at Leeds College of Art from 1957 until his retirement in 1984. Since then he has concentrated on producing his own multi-faceted art work, alongside part-time lecturing and curating, working from his home near Hebden Bridge.
A solo exhibition of his work was held at the Lane Gallery, Bradford in 1963, and since then he has staged various other solo exhibitions at St. Ives, London, Paris, Rievaulx Abbey, Berlin, Cambridge, Harrogate and Leeds, in addition to group shows in England, Europe and the USA.
Gummerson's work is held in public and private collections in Britain, USA, France and Switzerland.
Dean Clough mounted a major exhibition of his work in 2009, and his paintings can be found in the Kirklees Collection and in the Mercer Art Gallery, Harrogate. £70 - 100
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✓ John Rich (b.1931)
Abstract
Initialled, mixed media on paper, 14.5cm by 15.5cm
Born in 1931 in Dorking, Rich studied at Epsom School of Art and later in Paris. He went on to establish a studio in Kent.
His exhibitions include those held in London from 1957-1963, France and elsewhere.
His work is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, Israel. £100 - 150
| Marie Walker Last (1917-2017)
In the mid-1950's she became a member of the Northern Federation of Artists, and whilst attending their summer painting schools met leading artists such as Robert Medley and Terry Frost. Here she was encouraged to move beyond representational depictions of landscape towards more abstract, personal expressions of her surroundings.
In 1956 Marie was accepted into the Chelsea School of Art, where she produced bold abstract expressionist work often inspired by her fascination with the Universe and space exploration. Whilst in London, Marie threw herself into the vibrant art scene, working for the Molton Gallery, Annely Juda and New Vision Centre Gallery. Her first solo show in 1959 was at University Gallery, Newcastle, an offshoot of the New Vision Centre Gallery focusing on contemporary abstract art. This was followed by a solo show in the New Vision Centre Gallery in London.
In 1961 Marie married lawyer Tom Last and moved to his home town of Ilkley, where she established a studio in nearby Menston. Here she gravitated back to her early fascination with the Yorkshire landscape, which once more became a strong focus for her work. Marie exhibited both locally and nationally, with her first major retrospective held at Dean Clough Gallery, Halifax in 1991.
Throughout her long career, Marie Walker Last experimented widely with different movements and styles, but her diverse work is unified by a common emotional response to the landscape around her.
Marie Walker Last held many solo exhibitions throughout the 1950's, 60's and 70's and her works can be found in the collections of the Bank of England, Bradford University, Leeds University, Bradford Art Galleries and Museums, The Open University, Halifax Building Society, York University, Arthur Haigh Collection, Granada Television, Yorkshire Television and numerous private collections.
"It is difficult to put into words my aims as a painter: to be able to do so would make painting unnecessary. In abstract painting one is searching in deeper then surface levels for something glimpsed "beyond human ken", translating this into shapes, forms, colour and space and always struggling to convey that extra mystical something which is the essence of all good paintings". Marie Walker Last 1966
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Marie Walker Last (1917-2017)
Abstract
Inscribed verso "Marie Walker Last for St Johns Queens Rd Ilkley", oil on paper, 43cm by 58cm £300 - 500
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Marie Walker Last (1917-2017)
Abstract-grey ground
Signed and dated 1956 verso, oil on textured wallpaper, 54.5cm by 75cm £500 - 700
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Marie Walker Last (1917-2017)
Abstract - yellow ground
Signed and dated 1956 verso, oil on textured wallpaper, 54cm by 75cm £500 - 700
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✓ Marie Walker Last (1917-2017)
Abstract
Signed and inscribed with artist's address verso, oil on canvas, 65cm by 75.5cm £1000 - 1500
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Marie Walker Last (1917-2017)
Abstract
Signed and dated (19)75, gouache, 23.5cm by 33.5cm £300 - 500
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✓ Marie Walker Last (1917-2017)
Abstract
Gouache, 52.5cm by 74cm £400 - 600
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Marie Walker Last (1917-2017)
"Cruciform"
Oil on canvas, 183cm by 152cm £2000 - 3000
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Marie Walker Last (1917-2017)
Abstract
Oil on canvas, 40cm by 50cm £400 - 600
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✓ Marie Walker Last (1917-2017)
"Abstract Grey, Red and White"
Gouache, 52.5cm by 73.5cm £600 - 800
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✓ Marie Walker Last (1917-2017)
"Journey to Freedom"
Signed and inscribed verso (19)60, oil on canvas, 152cm by 183cm £1500 - 2500
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Marie Walker Last (1917-2017)
"Mirage 2"
Signed and inscribed verso, oil on board,122cm by 182.5cm £1000 - 1500
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Marie Walker Last (1917-2017)
Abstract
Oil on board, 91.5cm by 122cm £800 - 1200
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Marie Walker Last (1917-2017)
"Space Intangibles"
Signed verso, oil on board, 122cm by 183cm £2000 - 3000
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Marie Walker Last (1917-2017)
Abstract with red circle
Mixed media on paper, 53.5cm by 74.5cm £300 - 500
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Marie Walker Last (1917-2017)
Abstract with orange form
Signed, mixed media, 22.5cm by 22.5cm £150 - 250
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Marie Walker Last (1917-2017)
Abstract in Ochre
Signed and dated (19)75, mixed media, 33.5cm by 15cm £150 - 250
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Marie Walker Last (1917-2017)
Disk sinking
Mixed media on paper, 68cm by 98cm £300 - 500
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Marie Walker Last (1917-2017)
Mystic landscape
Mixed media on paper, 37cm by 54cm £250 - 400
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Marie Walker Last (1917-2017)
Landscape in monochrome
Signed and dated (19)64, gouache, 44cm by 57.5cm £250 - 400
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Marie Walker Last (1917-2017)
Spinning disk
Signed, mixed media, 43cm by 33cm £200 - 300
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William John Bertram Newcombe CSGA, CWCS (1907-1969) Canadian
Abstract
Signed, watercolour, 40cm by 71.5cm
Newcombe was born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and lived in Toronto (1936-1955). During this time, he became the President of the Canadian Society of Graphic Art, exhibiting with the Art Association of Montreal, the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts and the American Watercolour Society.
In 1955 he came to live in England and developed a more abstract style becoming open to the avant-garde scene taking place simultaneously in London, Paris and Rome. He began exhibiting in selections and mixed exhibitions and also showed at the ground-breaking Iris Clert Gallery in Paris in 1957. By the May of 1958 he had his first joint exhibition with Padraig Macmiadhachain at the New Vision Centre Gallery in London (NVCG). In 1959 he staged his first solo exhibition at the NVCG, and again in 1962, and thereafter became a regular exhibitor. In 1961 he exhibited at Manchester City Art Gallery with Paul-Emile Borduas, the leader of the Automatiste Group and the chief author of the Refus Global Manifesto of 1948. The third Canadian artist of the exhibiting trio was Jean Paul Riopelle, who has now attained international recognition as Canada's leading abstract artist.
Newcombe also showed at the first Biennale of Abstract Art (Canadian Section) at the Commonwealth Institute London in 1963. £200 - 300
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William John Bertram Newcombe CSGA, CWCS (1907-1969) Canadian
Abstract
Signed, inscribed verso, mixed media, 52.5cm by 70cm £250 - 400
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William John Bertram Newcombe CSGA, CWCS (1907-1969) Canadian
"November 17-2"
Signed, inscribed verso, gouache, 40.5cm by 71cm £250 - 400
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William John Bertram Newcombe CSGA, CWCS (1907-1969) Canadian
Abstract in Red and Black
Signed and dated 1959 verso, mixed media on canvas, 74cm by 93cm £1000 - 1500
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William John Bertram Newcombe CSGA, CWCS (1907-1969) Canadian
"Approach to Life"
Signed, inscribed and dated 1959 verso, oil on canvas with applied elements, 74cm by 88cm £800 - 1200
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✓ Aubrey Williams (1926-1990) Guyanan/British
"Full Moon on Guiana"
Inscribed verso, mixed media, 29cm by 42.5cm
Williams was born in Guyana, South America and as a young man worked as the agricultural officer for the North West District, living with the Warrau Indians, and was honoured by being initiated into their tribe.
In 1952 he came to Britain and settled in London in 1954 where he studied at St Martin's College of Art. He consistently exhibited at the New Vision Centre Gallery in 1958,1959 and 1960, and by 1962 was able to give up his business as a picture framer in order to devote his time to full time painting. The years 1962-64 was a period of intense activity and his prolific output resulted in over 2500 gouaches and 100 paintings in his studio by this time, whilst also exhibiting in Ireland, Paris (Galeries Collette Allendy) and the Gallery Caravan in New York amongst others. In 1963 he was awarded the Art Prize at the first Commonwealth Biennale of Abstract Art. In 1965 he exhibited 40 paintings at the Commonwealth Institute Exhibition in London. From 1970 onwards he also worked in Guyana, Jamaica and Florida developing a career lecturing at the University of Guyana, Jamaica and in the UK.
One-man shows were held from 1954 in the UK, Dublin, Paris, New York, Switzerland, Milan, Canada (Expo '67), Jamaica, Guyana, Lagos, Japan, with more than 16 shows in London over his career.
His work is represented in the Arts Council and other collections. £250 - 400
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✓ Aubrey Williams (1926-1990) Guyanan/British
"Rain Drum"
Signed, inscribed and dated (19)60 verso, oil on canvas, 50.5cm by 46cm £500 - 800
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✓ Aubrey Williams (1926-1990) Guyanan/British
"The Presence of Kunpipa"
Signed inscribed and dated (19)59 verso, oil on canvas, 76cm by 102cm £700 - 1000
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✓ After Harold Riley (b.1934)
"Lowry Walking on Swinton Moss"
Signed, inscribed and dated (19)70, numbered 14/75 with an embossed stamp, a colour reproduction, 53.5cm by 39cm £100 - 200
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✓ After Laurence Stephen Lowry RBA, RA (1887-1976)
"The Family"
Signed in pen, with the blindstamp for the Fine Art Trade Guild, from an edition of 850, a colour reproduction, 29.5cm by 22cm £1000 - 1500
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✓ After Laurence Stephen Lowry RBA, RA (1887-1976)
"Fever Van"
Signed, with the blindstamp for the Fine Art Trade Guild, from an edition of 700, published in 1972 by Mainstone Publications, a colour reproduction, 45.5cm by 53.5cm £2000 - 3000
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✓ After Laurence Stephen Lowry RBA, RA (1887-1976)
"The Harbour"
Signed, with the blindstamp for the Fine Art Trade Guild, from an edition of 850, published in 1972 by Venture Prints Ltd, a colour reproduction, 44cm by 57.5cm £1200 - 1800
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✓ After Laurence Stephen Lowry RBA, RA (1887-1976)
"Level Crossing, Burton-on-Trent"
Signed, with the blindstamp for the Fine Art Trade Guild, from an edition of 850, published in 1973 by Henry Donn, a colour reproduction, 43cm by 58cm £600 - 800
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✓ After Laurence Stephen Lowry RBA, RA (1887-1976)
"The Lonely House"
Signed, with the blindstamp for the Fine Art Trade Guild, from an edition of 500, a colour reproduction, 29cm by 50.5cm £600 - 800
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✓ After Laurence Stephen Lowry RBA, RA (1887-1976)
"Street Scene"
Signed, with the blindstamp for the Fine Art Trade Guild, from an edition of 850, published by the Adam Collection, a colour reproduction, 29cm by 22.5cm £1200 - 1800
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✓ After Laurence Stephen Lowry RBA, RA (1887-1976)
"Peel Park"
Signed, with the blindstamp for the Fine Art Trade Guild, from an edition of 850, published in 1973 by Venture Prints Ltd, a colour reproduction, 41.5cm by 78cm £2000 - 3000
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✓ After Laurence Stephen Lowry RBA, RA (1887-1976)
"The Pond"
Signed, with the blindstamp for the Fine Art Trade Guild, from an edition of 850, published in 1974 by Mainstone Publications, a colour reproduction, 46.5cm by 58cm (unframed) £2000 - 3000
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✓ After Laurence Stephen Lowry RBA, RA (1887-1976)
"Britain at Play"
Signed, with the blindstamp for the Fine Art Trade Guild, from an edition of 850, published by Mainstone publications, a colour reproduction, 47cm by 61cm
Provenance: William Dodds, Darlington £2000 - 3000
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✓ After Laurence Stephen Lowry RBA, RA (1887-1976)
"Going to the Match"
Signed, with the blindstamp for the Fine Art Trade Guild, from an edition of 300, published in 1972 by the Medici Society, a colour reproduction, 56cm by 70cm
Provenance: Purchased as new 1972
Thence by descent £15000 - 20000
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✓ Moore, Henry
"Shelter Sketch Book"
Published by Editions Poetry, London, 1940
Signed and dated 1940 by Henry Moore in black ink, 17.5cm by 21cm £70 - 100
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✓ John Egerton Christmas Piper CH (1903-1992)
"Gothic Folly Stowe", (1985)
Signed and numbered 2/70, etching and aquatint, 41cm by 49cm £600 - 800
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✓ Norman Ackroyd CBE, RA (b.1938)
"Loch"
Signed, inscribed and dated 1975, etching, 41.5cm by 32.5cm (sheet) £150 - 250
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✓ Norman Ackroyd CBE, RA (b.1938)
"On Blacksod Bay - Ten Etchings of West Mayo"
The complete portfolio including ten etchings "Blacksod Rainbow", "Annagh Head", "From Corraun Point - Inishglora", "Atlantic Rain", "On Inishkea-Bailey Mór", "Black Rock", "Duvillaun More and Achill", "Blacksod Point", "Inishglora" and "Croagh Patrick from Achill", each signed, inscribed and dated (20)00 and numbered 4/90, encased in the original Solander box, 32.5cm by 26cm (10) (unframed)
Provenance: Private acquisition from the artist £1500 - 2500
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✓ Norman Ackroyd CBE, RA (b.1938)
"The Aran Islands - Oileáin Árann"
The complete portfolio including ten etchings "North Sound - Moon and Rainbow", "Cliffs Inishmore", "Dún Aengus", "The Black Fort", "Temple Benan", "Gregory's Sound - Inishmaan", "Dún Chonchúir - Inishmaan", "Galway Bay from Inishmaan" "Foul Sound", "Black Head from Inisheer", each signed and dated (20)01, inscribed and numbered 2/90, encased in the original Solander box, the frontispiece also dedicated, 26.5cm by 42cm (10) (unframed)
Provenance: Private acquisition from the artist £2000 - 3000
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