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Biography
Enquire about this picture£400
Presentation: Mounted
Pen and ink with black chalk highlights, 1920's
15 3/8 x 22 in. (39 x 56 cms).
Provenance: Marjorie Guthrie
Biography
Enquire about this picture£800
Presentation: Mounted
Signed on the reverse with initials, incribed with title and dated 1926
Watercolour
10 x 14 in. (25.5 x 35.5 cms).
Provenance: Marjorie Guthrie
Biography
Enquire about this picture£1,900
Presentation: Mounted
Pen and ink and brush, with black chalk highlights, on buff paper
19 1/4 x 7/16 in. (49 x 29 cms).
Provenance: Marjorie Guthrie
Biography
Enquire about this picture£800
Presentation: Mounted
Signed with initials
Blue wash, pen and ink
22 x 15 in. (56 x 38 cms).
Provenance: Marjorie Guthrie
Biography
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Presentation: Mounted
Signed with studio stamp
Screenprint, circa 1950
13 x 17 ins. (33 x 43 cm).
Provenance: Marjorie Guthrie
Biography
Enquire about this picturePrice on request
Presentation: Framed
Oil on canvas,
Signed and dated and titled on the reverse
15 x 22 ins. (38 x 56 cm).
Provenance: Marjorie Guthrie
Exhibited: Stephenson, Drain Gallery, September 1960, no. 14
'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.
Biography
Enquire about this picturePrice on request
Presentation: Framed
Oil
Titled and dated on the reverse
20 x 28 inches. (51 x 71 cm).
Provenance: Marjorie Guthrie
'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.
Biography
Enquire about this picturePrice on request
Presentation: Framed
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.
Biography
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Presentation: Framed
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
Biography
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Presentation: Framed
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)
Biography
Enquire about this picture£800
Presentation: Framed
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.
Biography
Enquire about this picture£400
Presentation: Mounted
Signed with initials
Red chalk
19 1/4 x 11 7/16. (49 x 29 cms).
Provenance: Marjorie Guthrie
Biography
Enquire about this picture£700
Presentation: Mounted
Signed with initials
Pencil
19 1/4 x 11 7/16. (49 x 29 cms).
Provenence: Marjorie Guthrie
Biography
Enquire about this picture£600
Presentation: Passe-partout
Gouache on paper, 14 x 9.5cm (31 x 16.5cm 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.
Biography
Enquire about this picture£900
Presentation: Passe-partout
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.
Biography
Enquire about this picture£700
Presentation: Passe-partout
Gouache on paper, 13.5 x 9.5cm (20.5 x 16.8cm 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.
Biography
Enquire about this picture£1,800
Presentation: Framed
Gouache over pencil
40 x 31 cm.
This composition would appear to date to the early 1940's and shares many of the stylisitic elements seen in Blue and Yellow Figure, circa 1946
In an white gessoed shadow box frame with museum glass
Biography
Enquire about this picture£2,850
Presentation: Framed
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
Biography
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Presentation: Framed
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.
Biography
Enquire about this picture£2,000
Presentation: Framed
Signed with studio stamp
Coloured crayon on squared paper with highlights in gouache
10 x 7 1/4 in. (25.5 x 18.5 cm.)
A version of this composition is reproduced in Simon Guthrie's John Cecil Stephenson page 139.
Biography
Enquire about this picture£1,500
Presentation: Framed
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.
Biography
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Presentation: Framed
Gouache on paper,
7 7/8 x 5 3/4 in. (19.5 x 14.6 cm.)
Biography
Enquire about this picture£130
Presentation: Mounted
Pencil.
14 x 9 1/4 in. (35.5 x 23.5 cm.)
Acquired directly from the artist's family.
Biography
Enquire about this picture£2,400
Presentation: Framed
Coloured pencils on grey paper
25 x 35 cm
Biography
Enquire about this picturePrice on request
Presentation: Framed
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)
Biography
Enquire about this picture£600
Presentation: Framed
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.
Biography
Enquire about this picture£900
Presentation: Framed
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
Biography
Enquire about this picture£900
Presentation: Framed
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
Biography
Enquire about this picture£900
Presentation: Framed
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
Biography
Enquire about this picture£600
Presentation: Framed
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
Biography
Enquire about this picturePrice on request
Presentation: Framed
Gouache on paper
Catalogue No A 152 b. 7 1/4 x 5 1/4 in.
Biography
Enquire about this picture£1,800
Presentation: Framed
Signed
Colour pencil on blue green paper
27 x 21 cm
Biography
Enquire about this picture£1,900
Presentation: Framed
Signed with studio stamp to reverse
Gouache on paper
18.5 x 11 cm
Biography
Enquire about this picture
To be included in a
forthcoming exhibition
Presentation: Framed
Signed and dated on the reverse
Oil on board
11 3/4 x 9 ins. (30 x 23 cm).
Provenance: Marjorie Guthrie
'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.
Biography
Enquire about this pictureTo be included in a
forthcoming exhibition
Presentation: Framed
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.
Biography
Enquire about this pictureTo be included in a
forthcoming exhibition
Presentation: Framed
Oil on board
Signed and titled on the reverse
43 x 40
Provenance: Marjorie Guthrie
Exhibited: Stephenson, Drain Gallery, September 1960, no. 9
'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.
Biography
Enquire about this pictureTo be included in a
forthcoming exhibition
Presentation: Framed
Signed, dated and inscribed with title on the reverse
Oil and pen and ink, on prepared paper, with scratching out
16 x 22 1/2 ins. (40.6 x 57.1 cm).
Provenance: Marjorie Guthrie
Biography
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Presentation: Framed
Signed and dated (studio stamp), oil on paper, each 7 X 5 ins. (17.8 X 12.7 cms.)
Provenance: acquired directly from the artist's family
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 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.
Biography
Sold
Presentation: Framed
Signed and dated (studio stamp), oil on paper, each 7 X 5 ins. (17.8 X 12.7 cms.)
Provenance: acquired directly from the artist's family
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 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.
Biography
Sold
Presentation: Framed
Signed and dated (studio stamp), oil on paper, each 7 X 5 ins. (17.8 X 12.7 cms.)
Provenance: acquired directly from the artist's family
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 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.
Biography
Sold
Presentation: Framed
Signed and dated (studio stamp), oil on paper, each 7 X 5 ins. (17.8 X 12.7 cms.)
Provenance: acquired directly from the artist's family
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 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.
Biography
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Presentation: Framed
Signed on the reverse and inscribed 6 Mall Studios
Gouache on brown paper, squared in pencil
10 x 13 1/4 in. (25.5 x 33.7 cms).
Provenance: Marjorie Guthrie
In 1928 Stephenson toured Northern England and produced a series of images of Northern Castles
Biography
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Presentation: Framed
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse
Oil on canvas, 24 × 18 in.(61 × 45.7 cm.)
Provenance: Marjorie Guthrie,t he artist's daughter-in-law
Exhibited: Cecil Stephenson, Drian Gallery, London,September 1960, no.16
Literature: Simon Guthrie, The Life and Art of John Cecil Stephenson, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria,1997, p.119, repr. 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.
Biography
Sold
Presentation: Unmounted
Oil and pencil on canvas. 12 x 18 inches. 30.5 x 45.5 cm
Signed and dated verso of blind stretcher
Biography
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Presentation: Unmounted
Oil on board 9 x 11 inches. 23 x 28 cm
Literature: Simon Guthrie, John Cecil Stephenson, 1997, (1) illustrated p.131
Biography
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Presentation: Unmounted
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: Unmounted
Oil on canvas on board. 13 x 13 inches. 33 x 33 cm
Signed and dated verso
Exhibited: London, Leicester Galleries, Seven and Five Society 1934; Camden Arts Centre 1975
Literature: Simon Guthrie, John Cecil Stephenson, 1997, (29) illustrated p.146
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Presentation: Framed
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: Unmounted
Oil on panel. 10.5 x 8.5 inches. 26.5 x 21.5 cm
Signed and inscribed verso
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Presentation: Unmounted
Collage and coloured pencil on paper 12.5 x 8 inches. 32 x 20 cm
Signed and inscribed verso
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Presentation: Unmounted
Signed with initials and dated, 1944
Pen and ink and grey wash with blue wash highlights
17 3/4 x 12 5/8 in. (45 x 32 cm.)
Provenance: Marjorie Guthrie
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Presentation: Unmounted
Oil on paper
6 1/2 x 5 1/8 ins. (16.5 x 13 cm.)
Provenance: acquired directly from the artist's family
Literature: John Cecil Stephenson, The Fine Art Society in association with Paul Liss, October-November 2007, pp 59-60.
Condition: suface dirt and mild foxing
This abstract is one of a series of small sketches made during World War II as preparation for larger works (materials being in short supply), which Stephenson 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: Unmounted
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: Unmounted
Gouache on paper. 21.75 x 17.5 inches. 55 x 44.5 cm
Signed, dated and titled verso
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Presentation: Unmounted
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: Unmounted
Tempera on canvas laid on board. 32 x 24 inches. 81 x 61 cm
Signed and inscribed verso
Provenance: Peter Nahum
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Presentation: Unmounted
Oil on canvas
24 x 18 inches. 61 x 45.5 cm
Signed and titled verso
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Presentation: Unmounted
Gouache and collage on black paper. 30 x 19 inches. 76 x 48 cm
Signed upper right
Inscribed on back by Kathleen Guthrie, 'Collage for Ceiling in the Industrial Building'
Exhibited: London, Drian Gallery, 1966; Camdan Arts Centre, 1975
Literature: Simon Guthrie, John Cecil Stephenson, 1997, (14) illustrated p.139
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Presentation: Unmounted
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: Unmounted
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: Unmounted
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
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Presentation: Passe-partout
Gouache on paper, 9.5 x 14.5cm (16.8 x 21.8cm 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.
Biography
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Presentation: Framed
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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