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Lot 10^AR

Sir Kyffin Williams R.A.
(British, 1918-2006)
Yr Aran 95.3 x 125.5 cm. (37 1/2 x 49 3/8 in.)

Modern British and Irish Art

29 May 2013, 14:00 BST

London, New Bond Street

Sold for £37,250 inc. premium

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Sir Kyffin Williams R.A. (British, 1918-2006)

Yr Aran
signed with initials 'KW' (lower right)
oil on canvas
95.3 x 125.5 cm. (37 1/2 x 49 3/8 in.)

Footnotes

PROVENANCE:
Acquired directly from the artist by Sir Michael Davies
Thence by descent

EXHIBITED:
London, Royal Academy of Arts, The Two Hundred & Nineteenth Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, 6 June-23 August 1987, cat.no.70

Most likely painted looking west across Snowdonia the present work depicts, from left to right, the mountain peaks of Yr Aran, Y Lliwedd and Snowdon. A familiar location for the artist, here Williams also returns to a preoccupation with the weather; the crisp but wind torn sky dominating almost half the expansive canvas. Williams remarks 'When blowing a gale, the clouds race around the peak (Snowdon) as if in a steeplechase on a very uneven course. They charge over a distant ridge and into a valley only to leap over a nearer one in a wild aerial scramble. I have been brought up among the mountains or in sight of them and although I might not love the cloud I accept them as part of my own landscape and they form an important part of my artistic life.' (Kyffin Williams, The Land & The Sea, Gomer Press and the Arts Council of Wales, 1998, p.86). Shown at the Royal Academy the same year his major retrospective opened at the National Gallery of Wales, Yr Aran epitomises Williams' stylised and persistently modernist approach to his beloved Welsh landscape.

Sir Michael Davies, a regular correspondent and patron of Sir Kyffin Williams throughout the 1980s and Senior Queens Court Judge.

Additional information

The 29 May sale was the departments most successful auction to date making almost £5m.
Furthermore, it was 90% sold by value with some staggering results achieved for fresh, competitively priced material sourced from private collections. Over half of sold lots soared above their high estimates, indicating that Bonhams is best positioned to secure the best price for your Modern British & Irish Art.
The variety on offer within this genre continues to delight buyers, proven by exceptional results for post-war masters such as Auerbach, Scully, Hockney and Freud whilst the early-mid century examples by Spencer, Lavery, Burra and Moore also exceeded expectation. We were proud to break our own world auction record twice over in the same sale for a pencil drawing by L.S. Lowry. Agecroft Regatta sold for £211,250, pipping The Organ Grinder (£151,250) to the title. The sculpture and Irish content were similarly contended for by the packed saleroom and busy telephones.
The cover lot Garden Path, Cookham Rise by Sir Stanley Spencer fetched an impressive £769,250 while the much admired Oil-bound Puffin by Lucian Freud commanded £385,250 on the day, with both returning to private collections.
We are delighted to now invite consignments for the forthcoming auction on 20 November 2013.
Please contact a member of the department or visit the sale webpage for further information.
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