Focus on Five – Art

“Affordable art to suit all tastes and budgets” is how Paul Keen describes the upcoming auction in Plymouth. With almost 200 lots to browse, ranging from traditional to abstract, and naive to graffiti, there really is something for everyone.

Arriving at the Saleroom this week from a South Hams home was a charming original Fred Yates (1922-2008) painting titled ‘Poppy Field’. It is a good size painting at 86cm x 86cm, and as well as being titled on the back it is also marked ‘Penzance – Plymouth (Accompanied)’. This ties the painting to when Fred was travelling by train to Plymouth dropping artwork off for exhibition. “A great painting” says Paul, with expectations of £2,000 to £3,000. (Read more here).

The auction offers up some 60 lots of work by Robert Lenkiewicz (1941-2002), including paintings, prints and drawings.  One of which is an oil on canvas painting showing ‘Anna Navas’. It is inscribed by Anna on the reverse, “Painting of me in the garden at the house, painted in May 2002″. Measuring 62cm x 62cm and housed in a heavy black frame, it carries a pre-sale estimate of £2,200 to £2,500.

The auction features three works by Michael Strang, including a small oil on board titled ‘Porthmeor, St. Ives’. Dating from 1995, at 15cm x 31cm, Michael’s plein air seascapes of Porthmeor beach were included in the Tate’s ‘Century of Images’ exhibition in 1995, which catapulted him into recognition as a modern day master of romantic impressionism. His work has since been included in many prestigious collections, including The Royal Academy and Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum.

No auction is complete without a work consigned by Plymouth’s popular artist, Brian Pollard. Demands for his naive paintings continue to rise so there should be no problem attracting bids for the painting titled ‘Full Moon’, which measures at 34cm x 34cm. It was short listed for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2021, and carries an auction guide of £300 to £400.

Finally, we are delighted to present another work by Hackney artist, Nicholas Borden. This dynamic view of ‘Covent Garden’ will appeal to fans of his work as well as new comers. It has been turning lots of heads around the Saleroom so far, and is expected to achieve £1,000 at the auction.

All the lots can be viewed online now, and the auction starts at 6pm on Wednesday 24th November.