Sworders Modern British & 20th Century Art 20 April 2021

I N T H E F R AME AMY S C AN LON The department has seen rapid growth since our first sale in 2016, with a wide range of Modern British, 20th century and contemporary art now coming through the doors. We are especially keen to champion the Great Bardfield artists, our close proximity to the Essex village continuing to bring both vendors and buyers to Sworders each year, with prices remaining strong. One of the principal artists of the group, Edward Bawden is a firm favourite of mine, and I am pleased to say we have another great selection of his in this sale. Lot 1 is inspired by William Blake’s poem, ‘ Tyger Tyger, burning bright,. In the forests of the night;. What immortal hand or eye,. Could frame thy fearful symmetry?’. I love how the strong lines of the linocut echo his verse, but also because this brings back fond memories of our inaugural Modern British Art sale where I first saw a copy of this. There are so many works I have grown fond of whilst working on this sale, but lot 172 stands out for me. This portfolio contains 31 lithographs by artists including Mark Hearld, Stanley Jones, Bernard Dunstan, Mary Fedden and Bernard Cheese, which were all commissioned by Curwen Studio for their 50th anniversary. The way it is presented, with all the prints housed in one frame, is so much fun. With the option to quickly change which work is on display, you could easily have one for every day of the month! Although I’m sure we can all agree that the past year has been challenging in many ways, a positive side for me has been the number of wonderful pictures that our clients have entered for sale. With over 300 lots in this catalogue and a further 450 in our Part II Timed Online sale, Sworders’ April Modern British & 20th century art sales are set to be our best yet.