British Contemporary Art

Study for a man seated sculpture Michael Kenny RA Original Artist: Michael Kenny RA (1941-1999) Chalk numbers on verso Born in Liverpool 1941, he son of an engineer. Studied at Liverpool art school, alongside Stuart Sutcliffe (an early Beatle) and John Lennon. He then went onto Slade in 1961 to study under Reg Butler, who nicknamed his protege "the Liverpool Italian". His distinguished career began when exhibited in Oxford in 1964. Michael was one of the most influential British sculptors of his generation and his contemplative geometric stone works became increasingly well regarded. He was elected associate member of the Royal Academy in 1976 and a Royal Academician in 1986. Today his work is held in museums all over the world including the British Museum, The Tate Gallery and the V&A in London. He has had solo shows in Germany, Sweden, Milan, Paris, Los Angeles, London, Japan and Dubai. Subsequently many corporations and private collectors throughout the world hold examples of his work. On Michael Kenny's gravestone in Highgate cemetery is the title of one of his sculptures, More Loved Than Known. The legend has been prophetic. He has a passionate following among the thousands of students he taught, who include Antony Gormley and Damien Hurst. Michael Kenny: Sculpture & Drawings This was an exhibition of Michael Kenny’s recent sculptures and drawings, from 1975 to 1977. Kenny (1941-1999) first studied in his home city of Liverpool before moving to London to continue his studies at the Slade. Following a successful international career, he was appointed a Royal Academician in 1986, and in 1997, two years before his death, he had a solo exhibition at the Royal Academy. Several of the sculptures in this Serpentine exhibition derived from his earliest pre-occupation, the human figure. In the works displayed, Kenny took particular inspiration from the female figure, lying or sitting, occupying, and informing an intimate space. We can see the workings of the Artist and possible preparatory sketch for the included sculpture in the following images. Michael Kenny was a sculptor and a painter, a prolific draughtsman and a print-maker. His early sculptures are dramatic, dealing with the isolation and loneliness of the individual. In later years, he worked mainly in stone in a quest for a sculpture that is simple in form and rich in meaning. With over 60 illustrations and key excerpts from the sculptor's own notebooks, this book provides the first opportunity to examine in detail the progress of Michael Kenny's career. Peter Davies...

Photolithographic reproduction of Henry Moore's work for Bolaffiarte Made in England, circa 1971. Copy 279 of 5000 limited copies. Framed and signe...

Medium Original oil painting on archival cradled board. Produced using oil paints and finished with varnish. Dimensions 92 cm × 106 cm Artwork Description Created in 1...

Medium Original oil painting on archival cradled board. Produced using oil paints and finished with varnish. Dimensions 66cm × 92cm Artwork Description Created in 1976...

Picasso, The Cubist Years, 1907-1916 A Catalogue Raisonne of the Paintings and Related Works. Published by Thames & Hudson, London, 1979. 1st Ed hardcover with dust jacket. A catalog...

A fine ink and hand tinted etching by Peter Jacques Little is known about Peter, he was a printmaker, working in etching and watercolour, who studied ...

An etching and aquatint by Victor Pasmore from his portfolio titled "The Dance of Man in Modern Times". Victor Pasmore was one of the leading members of the English school of Abstract Expressionism. Please note this is one print from a larger portfolio. Other prints from this portfolio are available. A bit about Pasmore- Beginning in 1947, he developed a purely abstract style under the influence of Ben Nicholson and other artists associated with Circle, becoming a pioneering figure of the revival of interest in Constructivism in Britain following the War. [6] Pasmore's abstract work, often in collage and construction of reliefs, pioneered the use of new materials and was sometimes on a large architectural scale. Herbert Read described Pasmore's new style as "The most revolutionary event in post-war British art".[7] In 1950, he was commissioned to design an abstract mural for a bus depot in Kingston upon Thames[8] and the following year Pasmore contributed a mural to the Festival of Britain that promoted a number of the British Constructivists. Pasmore was a supporter of fellow artist Richard Hamilton, giving him a teaching job in Newcastle and contributing a constructivist structure to the exhibition "This Is Tomorrow" in collaboration with Erno Goldfinger and Helen Phillips...

Flowing in the Right Direction from Europaeische Graphik VII, 1971; lithograph printed in colours, signed and numbered 2/65 in pencil, printed by the Curwen Studio, published by Wolfgang Ketter, with their blindstamp. Note: For a similar example see Tate PO6459 Presented in a new hardwood ebonised box frame. About the artist: Peter Schmidt...

A fine ink and hand tinted etching by Peter Jacques Little is known about Peter, he was a printmaker, working in etching and watercolor, who studied a...