- 125
John Craxton, R.A.
Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- John Craxton, R.A.
- Tree Root in a Welsh Estuary
- signed and dated 44
- pen and ink, pastel, crayon and oil on paper
- 38.5 by 49.5cm.; 15 by 19½in.
Provenance
Osborne Samuel, London, where acquired by the present owner in 2003
Condition
The sheet is fully laid down to a backing card.
There is very minor surface dirt, with craquelure to the thicker areas of white impasto. Elsewhere there is flattening to some of the raised elements of thicker impasto, with a small spot of loss in the lower left quadrant, and further spot to the top right hand edge, not visible in the present mount. This excepting the work appears in very good overall condition.
Housed behind glass in a thick silver gilt frame, set within a cream card mount.
Please telephone the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
John Craxton saw a stranded tree root in an estuary while visiting Pembrokeshire with Graham Sutherland in 1943. He turned it into one of his metamorphic images that captured the lost and menaced mood of war-time. It prompted two lithographs for the anthology Visionary Poems and Passages or The Poet’s Eye and several drawings and oils – most importantly Welsh Estuary Foreshore, a huge composition on burlap now owned by the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art but lent to the Craxton retrospective exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge from 3rd December 2013 to 21st April 2014.
Ian Collins
Ian Collins