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Press Release London

For Immediate Release

London | +44 (0)20 7293 6000 | Matthew Weigman | matthew.weigman@sothebys.com Sarah Rustin | sarah.rustin@sothebys.com | Kelly Signorelli-Chaplin | kelly.schaplin@sothebys.com Leyla Daybelge| leyla.daybelge@sothebys.com

Sothebys London Unveils an Exceptional Group of Modern British Art from The Dartington Hall Trust Collection
Highlights include works by Ben Nicholson, Christopher Wood, Henri Gaudier-Brzeska and Ceramics by Bernard Leach, Lucie Rie and Hans Coper

Ben Nicholson, 1930/1 (Charbon), est. 250,000-350,000*

SOTHEBYS LONDON, Tuesday 1st November, 2011, is delighted to announce the sale of a remarkable group of works by British artists on behalf of The Dartington Hall Trust, to be sold as part of Sothebys sale of 20th Century British Art on Wednesday, 16th November 2011. The works, comprising paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures and ceramics by artists including Ben Nicholson, Christopher Wood, Winifred Nicholson and Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, have been carefully selected by The Dartington Hall Trust. The discrete selection of 40 works comes from a much larger and important collection built up by progressive collectors Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst, the founders of the visionary Dartington Hall Trust, which was established in 1925. Vaughan Lindsay, Chief Executive Officer of The Dartington Hall Trust, comments: We have defined a core collection of works which will remain at Dartington and represents the major artists who worked here, whom Dorothy Elmhirst collected or who have some special link to the history of Dartington. The works to be sold at Sotheby's have been selected to raise sufficient funds to allow the Trust to continue its experimental work in the arts, social justice and sustainability, while still retaining a significant and attractive collection to inspire artists and visitors. Frances Christie, Sothebys Director and Specialist in Modern & Post-War British Art said: Sothebys is honoured to be offering works from such a landmark collection of Modern British Art to the auction market for the first time. Collected by Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst, the works are compelling visual symbols of their many relationships with some of the most significant artistic figures living and working in this country during the Inter-war period. Many of the works were acquired directly from the artists and have never previously been offered for sale.

Sale Highlights In 1931 Dorothy Elmhirst wrote excitedly to her husband about a young English painter who is the real thing. His name is Ben Nicholson She immediately acquired several of his works and invited Nicholson to speak at Dartington in 1935. Ben Nicholsons 1930/31 (Charbon) is undoubtedly one of the most important works by the artist from this early period ever to come to the market. The painting, (illustrated on page one, est. 250,000-350,000) marks a key pivotal point in the development of his style. The confident, yet stylized line which simplifies the still life objects to their most pared back form undoubtedly represents a climax of Nicholson's early style. It is a testament to the Elmhirsts discerning eye that they bought the painting, an exceptional example of Nicholsons distinctive reductive treatment of form. Christopher Woods 1930 painting, Pony and trap, Ploar, Brittany (illustrated left, est. 150,000-250,000) is among a rare group of works which demonstrate the development of Wood's work shortly before his death. Their lyrical qualities, sensual colours and distinct interpretations of mood are redolent of his artistic maturity. Perspective is distorted and proportions exaggerated to express Woods own interpretation of the scene. In their vitality, enjoyment and passion, Woods works seem to embody a set of values held high by the Elmhirsts. His work is infused with uninhibited feeling and expression, principles which were fundamental to the couple and which they aimed to instil in their pupils at Dartington in a challenge to contemporary education. Explaining his motivations for purchasing Woods work, Leonard Elmhirst wrote: One of the hopes that Mrs Elmhirst and I have of rescuing Mr Woods name for posterity, is that two or three people should have enough of his pictures to give a real conception of the breadth of his work Henri Gaudier-Brzeskas alabaster sculpture Boy (pictured right, est. 120,000-180,000), executed circa 1913, is among the artists most accomplished works from a period in which he turned his primary focus to carving. Prior to this date the majority of his sculptures were modelled in clay. Boy was exhibited at a show with the Grafton Group in 1914 as part of a small group of works that reflected the sculptors interest in looking to non-western sources for inspiration, such as the African and Oceanic wooden sculptures he had studied in the British Museum. Jim Ede, founder of Kettles Yard, Cambridge, wrote to Dorothy Elmhirst in 1964 requesting the opportunity to cast the present work in bronze, and although this request was initially refused, three casts of the work were produced in December 1968. One of the casts was kept by Ede at Kettle's Yard and another was gifted to the Muse National d'Art Moderne in Paris. The raw creativity and untutored directness of retired Cornish mariner Alfred Walliss work is exemplified in A Fishing Boat off the Coast (estimated 30,000-50,000). In this painting Wallis use of scrap materials creates a dynamic interaction between the board, the unpainted background and the paint surface. In 1935, the Elmhirsts friend and Tate Curator, Jim Ede wrote to Dorothy: I wonder if you would like a batch of pictures by Alfred Wallis? Anyhow I sent for some for you and am posting them on. They would be 3 the lot! If you don't like them, forgive me and post them back but if you would get your

people to frame them up like the one I brought you, you will find that they suddenly look no end good. The Elmhirsts, were thrilled with the works and with Wallis instinctive and nave draughtsmanship. Winifred Nicholson is best known for her vibrant still lives of flowers and Ragged Robin, (estimated at 50,000-80,000), an oil on canvas, executed circa 1930, demonstrates her distinctively luminous palate and almost Gauguin-esque sense of design. The artist drew on the theme of flowers throughout her career, having become entranced by the subject in the early 1920s while living with her husband Ben Nicholson in Switzerland. She particularly focused on the subject matter during her time spent at Villa Capricco in Lugano and in the rural countryside of Cumberland and this work is a quintessential example of this type. These paintings mark a distinctive period in Winifreds career, prior to her divorce and to her time spent in Paris, where the focus of her work became briefly more abstracted. Dartington and the British Studio Ceramics Movement Dartingtons association with studio pottery dates back to 1932, when Bernard Leach, the most significant figure in the development of studio pottery, set up a studio there at the instigation of Leonard Elmhirst, who was looking for a potter to become part of the community of artists and creators. Combining his passion for the art of pottery, with an interest in producing well-made and functional useable ware, Leachs work at Dartington forged the blueprint that has become the credo of generations of potters since. The 1952 Dartington Conference of Potters was an important landmark in the history of British ceramics, providing a forum for the discussion of craft in the modern world. The sale features works by many of the leading 20th Century ceramicists working in Britain, including Leach, Lucie Rie, Hans Coper and Shoji Hamada. Highlights include Bernard Leachs stoneware tenmoku-glaze Tea Caddy estimated at 700-900 (illustrated left) and Hans Copers Early and Large Barrel-Shaped Vase Form, executed in the early to mid-1950s, (illustrated right) estimated at 6,000-9,000.

The Dartington Hall Trust Founded in 1925 by Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst and based near Totnes in South Devon, The Dartington Hall Trust is a pioneering charity a place of experiment, enterprise and education where the arts, social justice and sustainability come together on a 1200 acre estate in the heart of Devon. The exemplary collection of pictures, sculptures and ceramics which the Elmhirsts put together provides a powerful visual story of what is undoubtedly one of the most progressive and innovative ventures in the arts and education of the inter-war period. During the 1930s, the experimental spirit of Dartington attracted parents such as Bertrand Russell, Aldous Huxley and Ernst Freud to enrol their children at the school. Ben Nicholson and Barbara Hepworth later sent their triplets to Dartington and Hepworth affirmed that we owe so much to Dartington Hall.

Today, Dartington continues its work as a place that supports and develops promising new ideas and attracts over a million visitors to its estate every year. Dartington funds much of its work through its own enterprises and activities. However, the demands of the upkeep of the Estate and its desire to continue to develop its programmes means that Dartington needs to raise additional funds to support what it does. Dartington is actively fundraising but is also raising funds from its own assets to support its fundraising campaign, hence this sale of a select number of works of art. * Estimates do not include buyers premium ** Dorothy Elmhirst, letter to Leonard Elmhirst, 16th October 1931

Images available via email

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