It depicts a friend of Armitage, Bernadette Watts, whose work as an illustrator he admired. Dealer Alex Puddy of Architectural Heritage offers it on his stand for £8600 and says it “alludes to Bernadette moving with her boyfriend to north Wales – leaving a trail of men running the other way”.
Completed c.1972, it is edition 1 of 9 and is constructed out of aluminium and painted with a screen-printed image.
London Art Fair runs from January 22-26 at the Business Design Centre in Islington. It hosts 100 international galleries, many focusing on contemporary works, although there is also a strong offering of Modern British art.
Frederick Charles Art and Alan Wheatley Art, for example, both bring works by Scottish painter Alan Davie (1920-2014). Jenna Burlingham Fine Art offers a range of Mod Brit works by artists – such as Ivon Hitchens, Ben Nicholson and Victor Pasmore – as does Osborne Samuel.
Special exhibitions include Threading Forms, featuring galleries and artists that showcase the use of thread in contemporary art, and Photo50, an exhibition that examines current photographic practice.
