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Lot 30^AR

Sir William Russell Flint R.A., P.R.W.S.
(British, 1880-1969)
The Warning Bell, Argilliers 49.4 x 68.7 cm. (19 1/2 x 27 in.)

Modern British and Irish Art

29 May 2013, 14:00 BST

London, New Bond Street

£15,000 - £20,000

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Sir William Russell Flint R.A., P.R.W.S. (British, 1880-1969)

The Warning Bell, Argilliers
signed 'W.RUSSELL FLINT' (lower right); further signed and titled 'The Warning Bell, Argilliers/W Russell Flint', signed again with initials and inscribed 'I am terrified lest tourist agencies discover this secret domain of mine/+ make it known, + popular./WRF' (on the backboard)
watercolour
49.4 x 68.7 cm. (19 1/2 x 27 in.)

Footnotes

PROVENANCE:
With Frost & Reed Ltd., London
With The Kennedy Gallery, New York, 1956
Ruggerrio Estate, Branchport, New York
Private Collection, U.K.

In the present work Flint delivers a fantastical rendering of Château de Castille, Argilliers, complete with three maidens washing clothes. Flint most likely visited this ruined castle in southern France during his travels through the region between the wars. So enamoured by the beauty of the place he felt it necessary to record his thoughts by way of inscription on the backboard to this work; 'I am terrified lest tourist agencies discover this secret domain of mine and make it known, and popular'. It was not to be tourist agencies that discovered Château de Castille; the property was purchased by the noted art historian and collector Douglas Cooper in 1950 and restored to house his extensive collection of modern art. Shared with fellow art critic John Richardson, Castille became a mecca for the great artistic minds of the day such as Fernand Léger and Pablo Picasso, who relentlessly tried, and failed, to persuade Cooper to sell the property to him.

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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