This auction has ended. View lot details

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

101^AR — Fred Yates (British, 1922-2008) Still Life with Flowers

£2,000 - £3,000

102^AR — Fred Yates (British, 1922-2008) Vase of Flowers

£1,000 - £1,500

103^AR — John Bellany C.B.E., R.A., H.R.S.A., L.L.D.(Lon) (British, 1942-2013) Bouquet in a Floral Jug (unframed)

£6,000 - £8,000

104^AR — John Bratby R.A. (British, 1928-1992) Two Sunflowers

£4,000 - £6,000

105^AR — Philip Sutton R.A. (British, born 1928) Still Life

£800 - £1,200

106^AR — Anne Estelle Rice (American/British, 1887-1959) White Cyclamen (with a further unfinished oil, still life study, on the reverse, by the same hand)

£800 - £1,200

113^AR — Tessa Newcomb (British, born 1955) The Evening after the Visit (together with a further oil on board, Someone's Second Home, by the same hand(2))

£600 - £800

114^AR — Mary Newcomb (British, 1922-2008) Orange Winged Butterfly

£1,000 - £1,500

115^AR — Mary Newcomb (British, 1922-2008) Butterfly

£1,000 - £1,500

116^AR — Mary Newcomb (British, 1922-2008) Yellow Butterfly

£1,000 - £1,500

117^AR — Tessa Newcomb (British, born 1955) Our Field

£800 - £1,200

118^AR — Mary Newcomb (British, 1922-2008) Fishing Boat

£700 - £1,000

119^AR — Alan Lowndes (British, 1921-1978) Cap d'Antibes

£4,000 - £6,000

120^AR — Mary Fedden R.A. (British, 1915-2012) Oasis Pella, Jordan

£4,000 - £6,000

121^AR — Mary Fedden R.A. (British, 1915-2012) Gone Fishing

£1,500 - £2,500

122^AR — Alan Furneaux (British, born 1953) The Bay of St Michael's Mount

£700 - £1,000

Previous Lot

Next Lot

Lot 59^AR

Duncan Grant
(British, 1885-1978)
The Garden of Gethsemane 43.3 x 61.3 cm. (17 x 24 1/8 in.)

Modern British and Irish Art

13 June 2018, 15:00 BST

London, New Bond Street

Sold for £8,750 inc. premium

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

How to sell

Looking for a similar item?

Our Modern British & Irish Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.

Find your local specialist

Ask about this lot

Penny Day

Head of UK and Ireland

Tel: +44 20 7468 8366

Penny.Day@bonhams.com

Christopher Dawson

Head of Department

Tel: +44 20 7468 8296

Christopher.Dawson@bonhams.com

Ingram Reid

Director

Tel: +44 20 7468 8297

Ingram.Reid@bonhams.com

Kieran O'Boyle

Head of Ireland & Northen Ireland

Tel: +353 1602 0990

Kieran.OBoyle@bonhams.com

Duncan Grant (British, 1885-1978)

The Garden of Gethsemane
oil on board
43.3 x 61.3 cm. (17 x 24 1/8 in.)
Painted circa 1970-1

Footnotes

Provenance
Sale; Christie's, London, 7 March 1983, lot 115
Sale; Christie's, London, 7 November 1985, as Christ and the three Apostles in the Garden of Gethsemane, lot 166a
Private Collection, U.K.

Literature
E. Lucie-Smith and F. de Louville, The Male Nude; The Modern View, Phaidon Press Ltd., 1985, p.36 (coll.ill.)

The design of this painting is based on two paintings in the National Gallery, London, by Giovanni Bellini and Andrea Mantegna of 'The Agony in the Garden', showing Christ praying on the eve of the Crucifixion, while his disciples Peter, James and John were asleep. Grant has changed the emphasis, so that the disciples are the principal focus. They are naked, and although asleep seem to have strikingly homo-erotic poses, as if held still while making love.

Grant twice painted subjects from the Passion of Christ for commissions from churches, for Berwick, East Sussex in 1941 and for Lincoln Cathedral in 1954-8. Neither of these included the Garden of Gethsemane, although this took place only the day before those subjects. In both church and cathedral the depiction is again homo-erotic, particularly at Lincoln which includes a scene of dockworkers loading ships.

This painting thus combines references to the Old Masters. The details that surround the figures are painted sketchily, with undergrowth and rocks also looking like parts of the body, as if the dreamers were enfolding this tragic but essential scene into the appearance of nature.

We are grateful to Richard Shone for his assistance with cataloguing this lot and to David Fraser Jenkins for compiling the catalogue entry.

Additional information

This auction is now finished. If you are interested in consigning in future auctions, please contact the specialist department. If you have queries about lots purchased in this auction, please contact customer services.
Buyers' Obligations
ALL BIDDERS MUST AGREE THAT THEY HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD BONHAMS' CONDITIONS OF SALE AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THEM, AND AGREE TO PAY THE BUYER'S PREMIUM AND ANY OTHER CHARGES MENTIONED IN THE NOTICE TO BIDDERS. THIS AFFECTS THE BIDDERS LEGAL RIGHTS.
If you have any questions about the Conditions of Sale, please contact your nearest client services team.
From 28 June 2025, the import into the EU of non-EU property of a certain age (and in some categories above a certain value) is subject to additional requirements. Under the relevant EU Regulation, it is the Buyer's sole responsibility to assess whether any Lot meets the criteria for import into the EU. The refusal of any required Import Licence or Importer Statement, or any delay in obtaining such Licence or Statement shall not give rise to the rescission or cancellation of any Sale, nor allow any delay in making full payment for the Lot.
Buyers' Premium and Charges
For all Sales categories, buyer's premium excluding Cars, Motorbikes, Wine, Whisky and Coin & Medal sales, will be as follows:
Buyer's Premium Rates
28% on the first £40,000 of the hammer price;
27% of the hammer price of amounts in excess of £40,000 up to and including £800,000;
21% of the hammer price of amounts in excess of £800,000 up to and including £4,500,000;
and 14.5% of the hammer price of any amounts in excess of £4,500,000.
A 3rd party bidding platform fee of 4% of the Hammer Price for Buyers using the following bidding platforms will be added to the invoices of successful Buyers for auctions starting on or after 6th July 2024 – Invaluable; Live Auctioneers; The Saleroom; Lot-tissimo.
VAT at the current rate of 20% will be added to the Buyer's Premium and charges excluding Artists Resale Right.
Payment Notices
For payment information please refer to the sale catalog.
Shipping Notices
For information and estimates on domestic and international shipping as well as export licenses please contact Bonhams Shipping Department.
- Modern British & Irish Art