The Pink Field Les Baux (also titled No.13 The Path to Mausanne on the stretcher) by Frederick Gore (1913-2009), and Lead On by Frank Avary Wilson (1914-2009) both surpassed their guides at the February 22 sale in Etwall, selling to the same London trade buyer. Adrian Rathbone, head of fine art at Hansons, described the works as “good examples” by “noted post-war British artists offered fresh to the market with tempting estimates”.
Gore’s well-preserved 20in x 2ft 6in (50 x 75cm) oil on canvas, which had suffered only minor paint loss, is believed to date from the artist’s formative trip to Provence in the 1960s and came with an old label for the Redfern Gallery in London. Executed in the artist’s signature Fauve style – the paint thickly applied in bright and vibrant hues – it was knocked down at £5900, nearly double its top guide.
A bid of £6800 secured Wilson’s larger 4ft 11in x 18in (1.50m x 45cm) oil on canvas Lead On. The abstract piece was estimated at £1000-1500.
Wilson played a significant role in the post-war British art scene. He was one of the first British artists to use ‘Tachist’ or action painting techniques and formed the New Vision Group in 1956 with South African painter Denis Bowen.
According to the Art Sales Index, his auction record of £15,000 (with premium) was set at Christie’s London in March 2012 for Wish (1957).
