Catalogue Five – February 2009

Items are sold on a first come, first served basis. Postage and packing is a flat rate of £10 for European buyers of unframed items, but framed items will need us to calculate a tailored quotation. Items will be packed and dispatched by a secure method with basic insurance up to £250.00 Additional insurance cover is optional and should be requested. Buyers from outside Europe, and those succcessful in securing multiple items can request a tailored shipping quote.

ITEM 1

Untitled
Pencil on paper
Signed in pencil, lower left ‘AOS’ and dated lower right 1910
In the upper left corner there is an inscription ‘p.7′.
Framed
h.540mm x w.375mm approx.

Provenance: Dr. Thomas Lumsden Collection

EXCEPTIONALLY RARE. This drawing is one of very few that are extant from 1910. It was executed when Spare was developing The Book of Pleasure and may well be one of the studies on which he was working for publication, but never finished. In the upper left hand corner there is an inscription ‘P.7′, possibly referring to Spare’s intended placement in the pagination. Only two drawings from The Book of Pleasure are known to have survived, one is in the collection of Jimmy Page and another (which was subsequently reworked by Spare) is in a private collection in London.

There are some subtle and luminous self-portraits in the lower quarter of the image, deftly executed with just a few strokes of the pencil. They capture the strange, assured, quality that possessed Spare at the time he was courting his future wife and developing the thesis that would become his masterpiece. This work was acquired directly from the artist by one of his most loyal patrons, Dr. Thomas Lumsden, who is also credited in The Book of Pleasure as the owner of the drawing reproduced on p.46. It remained in the Lumsden estate until 2001, when a small collection of drawings was sold at Christie’s in London.

An exceptionally rare opportunity to acquire a drawing from The Book of Pleasure period which includes multiple self-portraits and was possibly intended for publication.

£SOLD

ITEM 2

[De Profundis]
Watercolour and pencil on paper
Signed lower right 31 Austin Spare
Framed
h.450mm x w.260mm approx.

Provenance: COIL Collection, inscribed on the reverse ‘John Balance, from the collection of’ and titled in John’s hand ‘De Profundis’.

Until quite recently, works from the early 1930s were relatively uncommon. In some senses Spare was between worlds: emerging from his dark days in Becket House to find new fame as the incumbent artist of the Walworth Road from 1936 onwards. He held several shows during this period, but few catalogues have survived.

This piece is typical of this period, but also reveals Spare’s earlier background in stained glass design. Fine pencil lines are filled with subtle colour and the themes usually involve profound figures in haunting landscapes. There is some fading as is usual with delicate watercolours.

Once a part of the COIL collection, this piece has the title ‘De Profundis’ inscribed by John Balance on the reverse. This was a title used by Spare in his 1929 show at the Lefevre Gallery (no.11), but further details of John’s attribution have been lost. However, Spare was known to re-sign unsold works for later shows, so it is possible this piece was first exhibited in 1929.

SOLD

ITEM 3

[Portrait of a man]
Pastel on paper
Signed in pastel, lower left ‘AOS PIXIT 35′
Original frame
420mm x 330mm approx.

This superb portrait from the mid 1930s was probably exhibited in Spare’s 1936 show. The frame is the original chosen by Spare; stained wood with a gilt mount inset. An identical frame was used by Spare on a self portrait from the same period, reproduced on page 53 in Borough Satyr. Portraits of this quality from this period are rare and this example is exceptionally fresh and unfaded.

£SOLD

ITEM 4

Untitled
Pencil on paper
Unsigned, but inscribed ‘No.1′ in the artist’s hand, upper right.
[c.1950]
h.175mm x w.150mm approx.

This pencil drawing from the early 1950s looks to be one of a group that Spare developed for illustration. At the time he was working for Michael Hall, publisher of The London Mystery Magazine, illustrating several features between 1949 and 1951. He was also working with his friend Vera Wainwright, designing and illustrating a book of her poems.

The upper edge has an old strip of adhesive tape affixed, but as can be seen, this could easily be matted out by a good framer.

£SOLD

ITEM 5

Untitled [Nudes and Sigils]
Pencil and crayon on paper
Unsigned [c.1954]
h.290mm x w.200mm approx.

What could be better? The master at work! A sketchbook page replete with buxom women, sigillic formula and in the upper right hand corner there is a pencil rough for the famous ‘Isis Smiles’ (now in the collection of Jimmy Page). It’s amazing what life he can breathe into the most fleeting of lines. Pure Zos!

£SOLD

ITEM 6

Untitled [Nudes]
Pencil and crayon on paper
Signed lower right AOS [c.1954]
h.290mm x w.200mm approx.

It may have been the visit to Steffi’s art class, or maybe that barmaid at The White Bear, but Spare certainly found his mojo again in the early 50s. Here we have a sketchbook page with more nudes, or ‘odalesques’ as he would fondly name them, supine at the whim of the master’s fluid pencil.

£SOLD