Works from 20th-century artists’ estates form sale

A one-of-a-kind auction focusing on fifteen desceased 20th-century artist looks set to lead a rediscovery of their works.

The sale entitled From the Studio: Works from Fifteen Artists’ Estates will take place at Olympia Auctions on March 20. Many of the artists featured in the auction once exhibited in leading West End galleries in their day, with their works also featuring in museums and art galleries around the world.

Most of the artists were admired, promoted and written about by eminent 20th-century art critics. Several were Jewish émigrés, forced from their homelands to find their way anew in Britain and elsewhere. Many were close friends with other leading contemporary artists, sharing studios and ideas; some taught, several at the Royal College of Art.

Throughout, their efforts both individually and together chart the myriad movements and counter movements that define the dynamic 20th century modernist landscape, ranging from Impressionism to Abstraction, moulded by seismic geo-political shifts that helped to define the century.

Artists include the enigmatic oils of Edmond Xavier Kapp to expressive works on paper by Maurice Cockrill and the intimate interiors of Michael Upton. As well as Marie-Louise von Motesiczky (who has two current exhibitions in Burgh House, Hampstead and Amersham Museum), female painters in the sale are Hedwig Pillitz and Rose Hilton.

Styles featured include the expressive figuration typical of Motesiczky, Hans Feibusch and Hans Gassebner as well as the colourful post-War abstraction of James Hull, Leo Davy, Leslie Marr and Trevor Bell. Pre-sale estimates across all fifteen artists range from sub-£100 to £3,000.