11th Dec, 2024 12:00
Fine Paintings & Works on Paper
65
⊕ FRANK AVRAY WILSON (BRITISH 1914-2009)
FAW837
signed and dated aw 84 lower right and on the reverse
oil on paper
30 x 21cm; 11 3/4 x 8 1/4in
41 x 31.5cm; 16 1/4 x 12 1/4in (framed)
Born in Mauritius and known as an Abstract Expressionist painter, printmaker and writer, Avray Wilson studied art in France and Norway, developing his style through experimenting with the techniques and methods of Action Painting and Tachisme - a term used to describe the non-geometric abstract art that developed in Europe in the 1940s and 1950s characterised by spontaneous brushwork, drips and scribble-like marks.
Avray Wilson had numerous solo exhibitions in London, Paris and Brussels, while also participating in group shows with artists such as Hans Hartung, Georges Mathieu, Jean-Paul Riopelle and Pierre Soulages, with whom he exhibited at the Galerie Internationale,1956; and Galerie Helios, 1957. Major retrospectives were held by the Paisnel Gallery in 2011 and by Whitford Fine Art in 2016 and 2018.
Provenance
Bought by the present owner from the artist circa. 2000.
Sold for £350
FAW837
signed and dated aw 84 lower right and on the reverse
oil on paper
30 x 21cm; 11 3/4 x 8 1/4in
41 x 31.5cm; 16 1/4 x 12 1/4in (framed)
Born in Mauritius and known as an Abstract Expressionist painter, printmaker and writer, Avray Wilson studied art in France and Norway, developing his style through experimenting with the techniques and methods of Action Painting and Tachisme - a term used to describe the non-geometric abstract art that developed in Europe in the 1940s and 1950s characterised by spontaneous brushwork, drips and scribble-like marks.
Avray Wilson had numerous solo exhibitions in London, Paris and Brussels, while also participating in group shows with artists such as Hans Hartung, Georges Mathieu, Jean-Paul Riopelle and Pierre Soulages, with whom he exhibited at the Galerie Internationale,1956; and Galerie Helios, 1957. Major retrospectives were held by the Paisnel Gallery in 2011 and by Whitford Fine Art in 2016 and 2018.
Provenance
Bought by the present owner from the artist circa. 2000.
Auction: Fine Paintings & Works on Paper, 11th Dec, 2024
Auction Location: London, UK
Our sale of Fine Paintings and Works on Paper features 80 lots spanning four centuries. It includes works from two significant deceased estates: art dealer Alexander Iolas who promoted the bright and playful works by Jean Hugo and Niki de Sainte Phalle (lots 44-52), and gallerist Karsten Schubert, led by a green revolver on a vibrant red background by Michael Craig-Martin (lot 53), currently the subject of a retrospective at the Royal Academy, Piccadilly.
Colour dominates many of the post-War works. A stripe painting by the leading Washington Colour Field artist Gene Davis is a sale highlight. Davis worked alongside Morris Louis and Kenneth Noland also from D.C. in the 1950s and ‘60s perfecting his distinctive style. 65-6 by Davis (lot 58) dances and rhymes before the viewer’s eye. From the same collection and similarly optical are the works by Joe Tilson (lot 60) from 1965, and a rare painting by Justin Knowles (lot 59). Fellow colourist Howard Hodgkin is represented by Here we are in Croydon from 1979 (lot 63).
Modern British is led by an attractive group of watercolours by John Nash (lots 34-37), all acquired from the artist by the present owner’s grandfather. Other British figurative painters featured in the sale include Alan Lowdnes with a street scene in Altrincham near Manchester (lot 40), and three sketches by the young Michael Andrews (lots 41-43). Elsewhere there are works by John Piper and humorous illustrations by graphic artists Ronald Searle and Quentin Blake (lots 71 & 72).
Artists from further afield include two 18th/ 19th century Cuzco paintings from Peru and good Australian examples: a watercolour by John Russell of the Pont de Neuilly, and an atmospheric painting of a dust storm in the New South Wales out back by John Charles Goodhart of 1907 capturing a storm that year (lots 31 & 38). ‘en plein-air’-ists in the sale include Otto Modersohn, co-founder of Worpswede school in Bavaria in the 1890s (lot 19) and three delightful paintings of children by Scottish painter Gemmel Hutchison, influenced by Barbizon in France and the Hague School in Holland (lots 27, 28 & 30).
For more information please contact us | pictures@olympiaauctions.com | +44 (0)20 7806 5541
Viewing
PUBLIC EXHIBITION:
Sunday 8th December: 12:00pm to 4:00pm
Monday 9th December: 10:00am to 8:00pm
Tuesday 10th December: 10:00am to 5:00pm
