Sotheby’s had a strong sale of British art in London with Barbara Hepworth posting a big sale. Here’s how the press release addresses some of the other works in the sale:

Among other works that attracted strong competition, Anemones in a Glass Jar exceeded pre-sale expectations to sell for £392,750 (illustrated right, est. £70,000-100,000) – achieving a world auction record for Christopher Wood, whose flower paintings are amongst the best-known and most sought-
after of his output.

Roger Hilton’s March 1961 was acquired by the Jerwood Collection for £68,750 (illustrated left, est. £40,000- 60,000) – to go on view in the future at the Jerwood Gallery in Hastings. An example of his unique style that blended thoughtful control with wild abandon, the work was painted in a pivotal year in the artist’s career.

A work by Sir Winston Churchill, Britain’s greatest war-time leader, Les Zoraïdes on Cap Martin sold for £368,750 (est. £100,000-150,000) – an indication of his exceptional ability as a painter. The South of France and the Riviera in particular held an immense appeal for Churchill and this work depicts a Riviera villa owned by celebrated 20th-century society figure Daisy Fellowes, married to his cousin Reginald.

Making an extremely rare appearance at auction, a major mature work by Marlow Moss, Composition Yellow, Blue, Black, Red and White brought £150,000 (est. £60,000-80,000). Moss moved to Paris in the late 1920s to apprentice herself to Lèger, although it was her encounter with Mondrian that would define her approach to abstraction for the rest of her career. The onslaught of the Nazis drove her to move to a farmhouse in Normandy, and she was forced in turn to abandon this – and much of her life’s works – to narrowly escape on a boat to England. This final studio was hit by shelling, thus destroying almost the life’s work of the one true British disciple of Neo-Plasticism.