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£3,850

Presentation: Framed
SN: 878
Collage and watercolour, signed with studio stamp to reverse
6 1/2 x 5 in. (16.5 x 12.7 cm)
Provenance: Private Collection

In a gilded shadow box frame.

During the Second World War Stephenson hovered between figurative and abstract art often combining pure colour fields with strong lines defining the edge of the composition. Sometimes, as in this example, the colours were applied as collage, a technique shown to Stephenson by his friend Ben Nicholson. Stylistically this work can be compared with Blue and Yellow Figure (circa 1946) (see Guthrie, John Cecil Stephenson, 1997, p. 139).

We are grateful to Conor Mullan for assistance.
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Presentation: Passe-partout
SN: 5029
Ink over pencil
8 x 12 cm (17 x 21 cm framed)
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 871
Signed and date with scratching out, signed in pencil on the reverse
oil on panel
16 x 11 3/4ins. (40.5 x 30cms)

Provenance: The Artist's Family

This historically important view of the interior of Stephensons studio dates to the year he first took over the lease from Walter Sickert. Soon to be joined by John Skeaping, Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Herbert Read and Henry Moore, the Mall Studios remained Stephensons home for the next 46 years.
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 872
Signed and titled on the reverse; labelks to the reverse, "not for sale"
Oil on board
48 x 36 ins. (122 x 91.5 cm).

Provenance: Marjorie Guthrie
Exhibited: Drian Gallery, September 1960, no 3; Cecil Stephenson, A Restrospective Exhibition, 29 January-19 February 1975, Camden Arts Centre, no. 70
Literature: Simon Guthrie, John Cecil Stephenson, 1997, p. 119, ill. p. 150

'The vicissitudes of the art world are such that it is possible for an artist of great talent to work for a lifetime in obscurity, and only towards the end of his career find the recognition that is due to him. He was one of the earliest artists in the country to develop a completely abstract style, a conscious craftsman ... he has created a world of visual delight that must at last be shared with a wide and appreciative public' (Herbert Read, introduction to Cecil Stephenson, exh. cat., Drian Gallery, London, 1960).

In April 1959 Stephenson met Halima Nalecz, the ebullient, Juno-esque owner of the recently opened Drian Gallery in London. She invited Stephenson to prepare for a one-man show (surprisingly his first), which took place in September 1960. He had about eighteen months to prepare for it. This resulted in a remarkable body of abstract work,most of which, according to their titles, are analogous to aspects of music. Some paintings were on a fairly modest scale (24× 18 in.) but at least ten were quite large (usually 48× 36 in.). Many refer back to small sketches in oil on paper that Stephenson had made during the Second World War, materials being in short supply. Some are fairly thinly painted in oil on paper; others are painted in heavy impasto on canvas and board. With the latter there is a dramatic gestural quality that shows an awareness of American Abstract Art, with which Stephenson was familiar through his activities as Chairman of the Hampstead Artists' Council. The smaller pictures were priced at around £50; the larger ones £100.

At the time of the exhibition, which was a critical if not a commercial success, Stephenson gave an interview (his last, as he was shortly to suffer a stroke, after which he was tragically incapacitated):

'Many misuse the word 'abstract'; Kandinsky explains it very well. Abstraction is a matter of condensing everything down to certain forms, such as the vertical (dynamic), the horizontal (static), and the diagonal somewhere between the two. The movement of a straight line runs across the canvas, but it can be broken up, like the teeth of a saw,to make quite a different effect.
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Presentation: Unmounted
SN: 874
Signed and titled on the reverse
Oil on prepared paper with scratching out
18 x 22 1/2 ins. (45.7 x 57.1 cm).

Provenance: The Artists family
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 876
Signed, inscribed with title and dated in pen and ink
Gouache, crayon and pencil, squared
21 1/4 x 6 1/4 in. (54 x 16 cm). (sight)

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Presentation: Framed
SN: 880
Egg ground, titled on reverse
30 x 22 in. (76 x 56 cms).

Provenance: Marjorie Guthrie
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 5203
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Presentation: Unmounted
SN: 2069
Oil on paper.
16 x 21 in. (40.7 x 53.3 cm.)
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 2070
Signed and titled on the reverse
Oil on board, 18 3/4 x 28 in.
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 2072
Signed dated and titled on the reverse
24 x 20 in.
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 2073

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Presentation: Framed
SN: 2076
mixed media
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 2080
Coloured pencils on blue paper
24 x 17 cm.

Provanance: The Artist's Estate

Literature: Cecil Stephenson, Simon Guthrie, Cartmel Press, 1997, p. 148

In a gesso frame of the artists own design
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 2081
Oil on paper,
16 x 13cm (23 x 20cm framed)

In a white gesso box frame

These abstracts form part of a series of small sketches made during World War II as preparation for larger works (materials being in short supply), which Stephenson then executed in the 1950s. They were stimulated by the devastation resulting from the bombing of London (also recorded figuratively by Stephenson during this period). Stephenson made his first abstract paintings around 1932. In 1934 he exhibited with the 7 & 5 Society, along with Ben and Winifred Nicholson, Ivon Hitchens, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and John Piper. Though not today as well known as many of his contemporaries he was one of the key figures in the development of abstract art in Britain in the mid twentieth century.
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 4803
Inscribed with 6
Crayon on paper

12 x 9 in.
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 2609
Signed, dated and inscribed by the artist on the reverse in pen and ink: ‘End of a Doodlebug Hampstead Heath. Oil of this picture shown at Royal Academy 1945 & selected by British Council for exhibition in the provinces. ’
Coloured chalk pencil and pen and ink
10 × 14 in. (25.5 × 35.5 cm)
Provenance:Artist’s family.
Literature: Simon Guthrie, John Cecil Stephenson, Cartmel Press Associates, 1997, p. 148.

The V-1, developed by the German Luftwaffe during the SecondWorldWar, was the first guided missile used in war and the forerunner of today’s cruise missile. Between June 1944 and March 1945, it was fired at targets in London and Antwerp. The simple pulse-jet engine pulsed fifty times per second, and the characteristic buzzing sound gave rise to the colloquial name of doodle-bug (after an Australian insect).

This picture depicts the remnants of a doodlebug, which Stephenson (whose Hampstead studio was damaged during the Blitz in 1940) saw on the Heath in 1945.The picture was exhibited at the Royal Academy that year (cat. no. 96)
and subsequently went on tour with the British Council.
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 3186
Silkscreen and crayon
Signed and titled, Silk screen print by Kathleen Guthrie from a painting by Cecil Stephenson 1938, (same size). Original painting bought by Anthony D'Offay

11 7/8 x 9 7/8 in. (30 x 25 cm.) (image size)

Provenance: the Artist's family
Literature: A Poet's Eye, The Paintings of Kathlenen Guthrie, Jonathan Eastaway, Cartmel Press, 1999, p. 43

Issue in an edition of 14

Guthrie was one of the most gifted silk screen print makers of her generation. In what might be seen as a posthumous collaboration, either shortly before or after the death of her husband Cecil Stephenson, she reproduced, as silk screens, three of Stephensons iconic Abstracts from 1936, 1937 and 1938. Inspired by this experiment Guthrie embarked, in the late 1960's, on her Camelot prints, a series of bold hard edged abstract designs with pure fields of colour, often using daring combinations.

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Presentation: Framed
SN: 3417
Gouache on paper,
7 7/8 x 5 3/4 in. (19.5 x 14.6 cm.)
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 3607
Titled and inscribed in pencil
Gouache and indian ink on paper

Provenance: The Artist's Estate; Ficher Fine Art Ltd (c 4091)

10 x 7 1/2 in. (25.4 x 19 cm)
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 3648
Signed and dated with studio stamp
Oil on card, 14 x 9.5cm

These abstracts form part of a series of small sketches made during World War II as preparation for larger works (materials being in short supply), which Stephenson then executed in the 1950s. They were stimulated by the devastation resulting from the bombing of London (also recorded figuratively by Stephenson during this period). Stephenson made his first abstract paintings around 1932. In 1934 he exhibited with the 7 & 5 Society, along with Ben and Winifred Nicholson, Ivon Hitchens, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and John Piper. Though not today as well known as many of his contemporaries he was one of the key figures in the development of abstract art in Britain in the mid twentieth century.

In a wedge section white gesseod shadow box frame

Gouache on paper, 16 x 13cm (23 x 20cm framed)
These abstracts form part of a series of small sketches made during World War II as preparation for larger works (materials being in short supply), which Stephenson then executed in the 1950s. They were stimulated by the devastation resulting from the bombing of London (also recorded figuratively by Stephenson during this period). Stephenson made his first abstract paintings around 1932. In 1934 he exhibited with the 7 & 5 Society, along with Ben and Winifred Nicholson, Ivon Hitchens, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and John Piper. Though not today as well known as many of his contemporaries he was one of the key figures in the development of abstract art in Britain in the mid twentieth century.

Gouache on paper, 16 x 13cm (23 x 20cm framed)
These abstracts form part of a series of small sketches made during World War II as preparation for larger works (materials being in short supply), which Stephenson then executed in the 1950s. They were stimulated by the devastation resulting from the bombing of London (also recorded figuratively by Stephenson during this period). Stephenson made his first abstract paintings around 1932. In 1934 he exhibited with the 7 & 5 Society, along with Ben and Winifred Nicholson, Ivon Hitchens, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and John Piper. Though not today as well known as many of his contemporaries he was one of the key figures in the development of abstract art in Britain in the mid twentieth century.

Signed and dated with studio stamp
Oil on card, 14 x 9.5cm

These abstracts form part of a series of small sketches made during World War II as preparation for larger works (materials being in short supply), which Stephenson then executed in the 1950s. They were stimulated by the devastation resulting from the bombing of London (also recorded figuratively by Stephenson during this period). Stephenson made his first abstract paintings around 1932. In 1934 he exhibited with the 7 & 5 Society, along with Ben and Winifred Nicholson, Ivon Hitchens, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and John Piper. Though not today as well known as many of his contemporaries he was one of the key figures in the development of abstract art in Britain in the mid twentieth century.
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 3885
Gouache on paper
Catalogue No A 152 b. 7 1/4 x 5 1/4 in.
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Presentation: Unframed
SN: 4564
Gouache
12.5 x 10 cm
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Presentation: Unmounted
SN: 4565
Gouache and pen and ink with studio stamp to reverse
10.5 x 8.5 cm

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Presentation: Unmounted
SN: 4566
Gouache and pen and ink with studio stamp to reverse
10.5 x 8.5 cm
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Presentation: Unmounted
SN: 4567
Gouache and pen and ink with studio stamp to reverse
10.5 x 8.5 cm
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Presentation: Unmounted
SN: 4568
Gouache and pen and ink with studio stamp to reverse
10 x 8.5 cm
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 2671
Oil and pencil on canvas. 12 x 18 inches. 30.5 x 45.5 cm
Signed and dated verso of blind stretcher
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 2672
Oil on canvas on board. 18 x 14 inches. 46.5 x 35.5 cm. Literature: Simon Guthrie, John Cecil Stephenson, 1997, (28) illustrated p.146
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 877
Signed, inscribed with title and dated in pen and ink
Gouache, crayon and pencil, on tracing papers
21 1/4 x 5 1/2 in. (54 x 14 cm). (sight)

Provenance: Marjorie Guthrie

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Presentation: Framed
SN: 2674
Oil on panel. 10.5 x 8.5 inches. 26.5 x 21.5 cm
Signed and inscribed verso
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 4962
Egg tempera
30 x 27 ins. (76 x 68.5 cm)

Exhibited: London, Drian Gallery, 1966; Camden Arts Centre, 1975
Literature: Simon Guthrie, John Cecil Stephenson, 1997
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 2677
Gouache. 14.5 x 11.75 inches. 37 x 30 cm
Facsimile signature, studio stamp
Inscribed verso 'Sketch No 8'
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 2675
Gouache on paper. 21.75 x 17.5 inches. 55 x 44.5 cm
Signed, dated and titled verso
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 2678
Egg tempera on canvas. 26 x 20 inches. 66 x 51 cm
Signed verso
Exhibited: Camden Arts Centre, 1975; Fischer Fine Art, 1976
Literature: Simon Guthrie, John Cecil Stephenson, 1997, (12) illustrated p.138
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 2682
Tempera on board. 32 x 24 inches. 81.5 x 61 cm
Signed verso
Literature: Simon Guthrie, John Cecil Stephenson, 1997, (37) illustrated p.149

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Presentation: Framed
SN: 2683
Oil on board. 36 x 28 inches. 91.5 x 71 cm
Signed, titled and dated verso
Exhibited: Camden Arts Centre, 1975; Gillian Jason Gallery, 1986
Literature: Simon Guthrie, John Cecil Stephenson, 1997, (15) illustrated p.140
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Presentation: Framed
SN: 2685
Oil and canvas. 24 x 18 inches. 61 x 45.5 cm
Signed, dated and titled verso
Literature: Simon Guthrie, John Cecil Stephenson, 1997, (18) illustrated p.142

Thumbnail panels:

Cecil Stephenson 1889-1965

Painter, born in Bishop Auckland, Co. Durham. He studied at Darlington Technical College, 1906-08, at the Leeds School of Art, 1908-14, the RCA, 1914-18, and Slade, 1918. Between 1915 and 1918 he did war work, making tools. In 1919 he took on Sickert's studio, 6 Mall Studios, Hampstead, where he was later joined by Herbert Read, Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore. From 1922 until 1955 he was Head of Art Teaching in the Architectural Department, Northern Polytechnic, Holloway Road. In 1932 he began making his first abstract works, exhibiting during the next decade in many abstract and constructive shows in England, France and the USA. In 1934 he exhibited with the 7&5 Society, along with the likes of Ben and Winifred Nicholson, Ivon Hitchens, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and John Piper. During World War II he returned partly to figurative work, making paintings of the Blitz. From the 1950s he returned to large abstract paintings, realising many of the abstract compositions he had sketched out on a small scale in the previous decade, when materials had been in short supply. In 1951 he made a l0 ¥ 30 ft. fluorescent paint mural for the Festival of Britain, and began working with ply glass for murals. In 1958 he suffered three strokes, which left him unable to move or talk. Partly for this reason he is today less well-known than many of his contemporaries, but he was one of the key figures in the development of abstract art in Britain. He is represented in the collection of the Tate and internationally.

Selected Literature Cecil Stephenson 1889-1965, Fischer Fine Art, London, 1976.

Simon Guthrie, The Life and Art of John Cecil Stephenson: A Victorian Painter's Journey to Abstract Expressionism, Cartmel Press Associates, 1997.