David Bomberg Art

Original lithographic poster printed by L.R.B Permild and Rosengreen.

The Great Fire of London in September 1666 was one of the greatest disasters in the city’s history. The City, with its wooden houses crowded together in narrow streets, was a natural fire risk, and predictions that London would burn down became a shocking reality. The fire began in a bakery in Pudding Lane, an area near the Thames teeming with warehouses and shops full of flammable materials, such as timber, oil, coal, pitch and turpentine. Inevitably the fire spread rapidly from this area into the City. Our painting depicts the impact of the fire on those who were caught in it and creates a very dramatic impression of what the fire was like. Closer inspection reveals a scene of chaos and panic with people running out of the gates. It shows Cripplegate in the north of the City, with St Giles without Cripplegate to its left, in flames (on the site of the present day Barbican). The painting probably represents the fire on the night of Tuesday 4 September, when four-fifths of the City was burning at once, including St Paul's Cathedral. Old St Paul’s can be seen to the right of the canvas, the medieval church with its thick stone walls, was considered a place of safety, but the building was covered in wooden scaffolding as it was in the midst of being restored by the then little known architect, Christopher Wren and caught fire. Our painting seems to depict a specific moment on the Tuesday night when the lead on St Paul’s caught fire and, as the diarist John Evelyn described: ‘the stones of Paul’s flew like grenades, the melting lead running down the streets in a stream and the very pavements glowing with the firey redness, so as no horse, nor man, was able to tread on them.’ Although the loss of life was minimal, some accounts record only sixteen perished, the magnitude of the property loss was shocking – some four hundred and thirty acres, about eighty per cent of the City proper was destroyed, including over thirteen thousand houses, eighty-nine churches, and fifty-two Guild Halls. Thousands were homeless and financially ruined. The Great Fire, and the subsequent fire of 1676, which destroyed over six hundred houses south of the Thames, changed the appearance of London forever. The one constructive outcome of the Great Fire was that the plague, which had devastated the population of London since 1665, diminished greatly, due to the mass death of the plague-carrying rats in the blaze. The fire was widely reported in eyewitness accounts, newspapers, letters and diaries. Samuel Pepys recorded climbing the steeple of Barking Church from which he viewed the destroyed City: ‘the saddest sight of desolation that I ever saw.’ There was an official enquiry into the causes of the fire, petitions to the King and Lord Mayor to rebuild, new legislation and building Acts. Naturally, the fire became a dramatic and extremely popular subject for painters and engravers. A group of works relatively closely related to the present picture have been traditionally ascribed to Jan Griffier...

’Geranium’ By Yutaka Takayanagi. Medium - Relief and lithographic print Edition - 5/20 Signed - Yes Size - 510mm x 660mm Date - 1978 Condition - Excellent. 10 out of 10. Born in Tokyo in 1941, Takayanagi's artistic journey began when he enrolled at Tokyo University of the Arts in 1960, studying under the renowned oil painter Kaoru Yamaguchi. His talent was quickly recognized when he received an Honorable Mention at the 8th Shell Arts Award Exhibition in the same year. During his time at university, Takayanagi took an intensive course in copper plate printing under Tetsuro Komai, receiving his degree from the graduate school in 1966. Fascinated by the simultaneous color print method, he started creating copperplate prints and soon gained recognition for his unique metallic reliefs, which he produced using collages of English newspapers. Takayanagi's passion for experimentation led him to create metallic emboss reliefs using his own photographs, and in the latter half of the 1980s, he moved on to silkscreen prints. He continued to push the boundaries of his art, constantly exploring new techniques and mediums. In 1978 and the following year, Takayanagi was appointed as an arts researcher for the Ministry of Culture and traveled to the United States, France, and the UK. These experiences enriched his artistic perspective and further cemented his reputation as a highly regarded artist. Takayanagi was part of the influential printmaking group Sosaku Hanga, which emerged in the early 20th century in Japan. This movement emphasized the artist's involvement in every stage of the printmaking process, from designing the image to carving and printing the blocks. Takayanagi's work often incorporates elements of nature and landscape, with an emphasis on texture and pattern. He also experimented with collage, incorporating found materials like newspaper clippings and photographs into his prints. Takayanagi's work has been exhibited extensively in Japan and internationally, including at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo. He has also received numerous awards for his contributions to printmaking, including the Japan Print Association Award and the Purple Ribbon Medal...

JAMES ROSENQUIST (B. 1933) "Flower Garden" Lithograph in colors on Hodgkin handmade paper, 1972 22” x 28 5/8” (55.9 x 72.7 cm) (image) 30 ½” x 36 ¼” (77.5 x 92.1 cm) (sheet) Edi...

ASGER JORN (Jutland 1914-1973 Aarhus) From head to toe. 1966/67. lithograph numbered 10/75, signed lower right: Jorn. Paper size 90 x 63 cm Published and printed by Erker-Presse, ...

Paper, 2020, Daniel Blagg, Oil on canvas, 38 x 58" By meticulously depicting forgotten road signs and roadside debris, Daniel Blagg invites his viewers to re-consider objects that ...

’Untitled’ By Yutaka Takayanagi. Medium - Relief with lithographic print Edition - 4/50 Signed - Yes Size - 790mm x 570mm Date - 1977 Condition - Excellent. 10 out of 10. Born in Tokyo in 1941, Takayanagi's artistic journey began when he enrolled at Tokyo University of the Arts in 1960, studying under the renowned oil painter Kaoru Yamaguchi. His talent was quickly recognized when he received an Honorable Mention at the 8th Shell Arts Award Exhibition in the same year. During his time at university, Takayanagi took an intensive course in copper plate printing under Tetsuro Komai, receiving his degree from the graduate school in 1966. Fascinated by the simultaneous color print method, he started creating copperplate prints and soon gained recognition for his unique metallic reliefs, which he produced using collages of English newspapers. Takayanagi's passion for experimentation led him to create metallic emboss reliefs using his own photographs, and in the latter half of the 1980s, he moved on to silkscreen prints. He continued to push the boundaries of his art, constantly exploring new techniques and mediums. In 1978 and the following year, Takayanagi was appointed as an arts researcher for the Ministry of Culture and traveled to the United States, France, and the UK. These experiences enriched his artistic perspective and further cemented his reputation as a highly regarded artist. Takayanagi was part of the influential printmaking group Sosaku Hanga, which emerged in the early 20th century in Japan. This movement emphasized the artist's involvement in every stage of the printmaking process, from designing the image to carving and printing the blocks. Takayanagi's work often incorporates elements of nature and landscape, with an emphasis on texture and pattern. He also experimented with collage, incorporating found materials like newspaper clippings and photographs into his prints. Takayanagi's work has been exhibited extensively in Japan and internationally, including at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo. He has also received numerous awards for his contributions to printmaking, including the Japan Print Association Award and the Purple Ribbon Medal...

Robert Motherwell Untitled (from Portfolio 9), 1967 Lithograph, 1967 22.25 x 17.25 in. (56.52 x 43.82 cm.) Signed; lower left with artist's trademark initials; numbered, Publisher...

’Complementaries’ By Yutaka Takayanagi. Medium - Relief and lithographic print Edition - 19/20 Signed - Yes Size - 615mm x 780mm Date - 1976 Condition - Good. 9 out of 10. Born in Tokyo in 1941, Takayanagi's artistic journey began when he enrolled at Tokyo University of the Arts in 1960, studying under the renowned oil painter Kaoru Yamaguchi. His talent was quickly recognized when he received an Honorable Mention at the 8th Shell Arts Award Exhibition in the same year. During his time at university, Takayanagi took an intensive course in copper plate printing under Tetsuro Komai, receiving his degree from the graduate school in 1966. Fascinated by the simultaneous color print method, he started creating copperplate prints and soon gained recognition for his unique metallic reliefs, which he produced using collages of English newspapers. Takayanagi's passion for experimentation led him to create metallic emboss reliefs using his own photographs, and in the latter half of the 1980s, he moved on to silkscreen prints. He continued to push the boundaries of his art, constantly exploring new techniques and mediums. In 1978 and the following year, Takayanagi was appointed as an arts researcher for the Ministry of Culture and traveled to the United States, France, and the UK. These experiences enriched his artistic perspective and further cemented his reputation as a highly regarded artist. Takayanagi was part of the influential printmaking group Sosaku Hanga, which emerged in the early 20th century in Japan. This movement emphasized the artist's involvement in every stage of the printmaking process, from designing the image to carving and printing the blocks. Takayanagi's work often incorporates elements of nature and landscape, with an emphasis on texture and pattern. He also experimented with collage, incorporating found materials like newspaper clippings and photographs into his prints. Takayanagi's work has been exhibited extensively in Japan and internationally, including at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo. He has also received numerous awards for his contributions to printmaking, including the Japan Print Association Award and the Purple Ribbon Medal...

Moonlite, 2021, Daniel Blagg, Oil on canvas, 38 x 58" By meticulously depicting forgotten road signs and roadside debris, Daniel Blagg invites his viewers to re-consider objects th...

Rene Genis (French 1922-2004) Monument Valley. 1967. Beautiful oranges, browns, greens against a turquoise blue sky. Oil on canvas, laid on mat. Si...

Robert Motherwell, American (1915 - 1991) Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival, 25th Anniversary. Lithograph, Edition of 800, unsigned and unnumber...