Harry Barr Collection in art and music sale

Included in an upcoming Art & Music Sale at Mallams in Oxfordshire will be The Harry Barr Collection, consisting of 50 oil and 30 watercolour paintings from the late artist’s studio.

Harry Barr was born in London in 1896, gaining his Art Teacher’s diploma in 1915. He then went on to study at the Westminster Art School where he met the distinguished artist, Walter Sickert, with whom he studied drawing. The two remained friends for life.

His subjects often included trees which took on an anthropomorphic look and sometimes he would use a knife to score or scratch the paper on some of his watercolours, as can be evidenced in some of the works included in the auction. Whenever possible, he worked outdoors, catching in his paintings the various moods of nature, with a number of his pictures even bearing the marks of sudden raindrops. Harry Barr painted until his death in 1987, at the age of 91.

‘The Harry Barr Collection’ features works with a number of different subject matters including landscapes, harbour scenes, still lifes and pigs (one of Barr’s favourite animals). Many well-known locations feature, including Epping, Richmond Park, Kings Lynn, Regents Park, Kew, and Caterham and the pieces have estimates ranging from £100-£300.

The sale takes place on October 18.