Irish Modern Art and Leonard Baskin Masterworks Lead Pyms Gallery Auction at Roseberys

A landmark auction at Roseberys on 26th November will feature works from the private collection of Mary and Alan Hobart, founders of Pyms Gallery. This sale includes a major selection of works by American artist Leonard Baskin, showcasing one of the most comprehensive collections of his work to come to market, alongside highlights by Sir William Orpen, Augustus John, William Crozier, and Sidney Nolan. The sale celebrates the Hobarts’ commitment to championing Modern Irish and British artists and will be sold alongside furniture, silver, and decorative art objects. ‘The Private Collection of Mary and Alan Hobart’ (a separate sale) is due to be auctioned at Christie’s on 19th November 2024.

Pyms Gallery was founded in 1975 by Alan and Mary Hobart and was highly influential in driving a reappraisal of early Modern Irish artists in London, particularly Sir William Orpen, Jack B. Yeats, and Mary Swanzy. Their private collection was the focus of a major exhibition at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, titled Championing Irish Art: The Mary and Alan Hobart Collection, in 2023.

Central to the sale will be a large group of works by the great American artist Leonard Baskin, including sculptures, drawings, prints, and a signed first edition of Ted Hughes’s The Crow, illustrated by Baskin, a lifelong friend of the poet. The works have been part of the collection for over a decade, originally acquired with plans for an exhibition dedicated to Baskin. The sale features two exquisite wood carvings: the early masterpiece Prometheus (c.1949) and Seated Man with Cloven Hoof (1965). Baskin’s pieces are emblematic of the Post-War period, sharing an intensity of vision with contemporaries such as Elisabeth Frink, Germaine Richier, and Alberto Giacometti.

The auction will coincide with Roseberys' Modern British & 20th Century Art sales: Early Modern to Post-War and Pop to Contemporary, featuring works from the collection of Mollie and Graham Dark, key figures in the St. Ives art scene. Post-War era highlights include pieces by Italian masters Mimmo Rotella and Lucio Fontana. The contemporary section of the auction is led by a notable work by Sarah Lucas.

ENDS

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Operating in London for more than 30 years, Roseberys Fine Art Auctioneers is a privately owned specialist fine art and antiques auction house and valuers, located in the heart of South London.

The team of world renowned experts and consultants offer both buyers and sellers a range of specialist art market services and a calendar of over 30 specialist auctions a year covering all areas of Asian Arts, Islamic & Indian Art, Jewellery & Watches, Old Master, 18th & 19th Century Art, Modern British & Contemporary British Art, Urban & Contemporary Prints & Multiples, 20th Century Art & Design, Impressionist, Modern, Post War & Contemporary Art and Decorative Arts, Fine & Decorative sales including Silver, Ceramics, Works of Art and Furniture.

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