The Arts Club in London Holds Auction at Bonhams to Help Pay for Refurbishment
November 9th, 2009 § Leave a Comment
The Arts Club Sale: Selected pictures from the Club will take place in London on Tuesday, 10th November at Bonhams in New Bond Street.
The Arts Club in Dover Street, London, is about to undergo a major refurbishment with its managing committee deciding to sell some of the Club’s distinguished collection of paintings to help pay for the works, as well as making way for new pieces.
Approximately 200 pictures will be for sale tomorrow at Bonhams in New Bond Street, London. Most of the pictures were acquired directly by the famous club from the artists themselves and have never previously been for sale or been on public display.
It is a wonderful opportunity to acquire works by artists such as Sir John Everett Millais, Dame Elisabeth Frink, Victor Pasmore, John Piper, Maurice Cockrill, Jacques Henri Lartigue, Elizabeth Sam Francis and Barbara Hepworth amongst others.
Head of Pictures at Bonhams, Caroline Oliphant, comments: “Bonhams is delighted to be in a position to offer these works from such a distinguished artistic institution which has played a significant part in the London art scene for almost 150 years.”
‘The Arts Club was founded in 1863, by a small group of aesthetes including Lord Frederic Leighton PRA and Charles Dickens, as a meeting place for men and women involved with the arts either professionally or as patrons. It was the first Arts Club to be established in the world, and is housed in an 18th century Mayfair town house.
During the 19th and 20th centuries it has been the hub of artistic endeavour and was the powerhouse behind the dealings of the Royal Academy. Its members have included Algernon Swinburne, Millais, Whistler, Kipling, Monet, Rodin, Degas, Turgenev, Lutyens and Sir Alfred Munnings’.
Current membership includes a number of Royal Academicians, architects and writers. The Club’s Royal Patron is HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, Sir Peter Blake is the Club’s President.
For further press information please contact Julian Roup on 0207 468 8259 or julian.roup@bonhams.com or press@bonhams.com
