FEATURES ARCHIVE

Tell us about the painting you have chosen to be photographed with…
This is Concrete Villa, Brunn by Patrick Caulfield, R.A. Caulfield was one of the key painters of the second half of the 20th century. He produced a comparatively small body of works, a large number of which are in museums around the world. Perhaps just one of his works will appear at auction every couple of years. This particular work has remained in the same family since it was acquired directly from the artist in 1963, the year that it was painted. It is believed that the figure in the work is Caulfield himself. Neither purely figurative nor completely abstract, Caulfield’s works fall perfectly between the two.

What path led you to becoming a 20th Century British Art specialist?
Having studied Art History at St. Andrews University, I joined Christie’s as a Graduate Trainee in 1993. I started on the front counter and then moved to the Furniture department before landing on my feet in the Modern British Pictures department. The late Lord Croft was a family friend and was a trustee of the Contemporary Art Society; he encouraged my passion for this period, had a great eye and was a voracious collector.

If i hadn't become a specialist, I would have been …
…an architect or an architectural historian. I have always been fascinated by architecture and design.

What is it that makes 20th Century British Art so special?
Aside from the ‘Britishness’, it is the period in which these works were painted – a century clouded by two world wars which has made them so unique. Many 20th century British artists were also great friends and worked closely together.

As you say, many of the artists in this category knew each other, came from the same art schools and often drew inspiration from each other's work. How important were these friendships in 20th Century British Art?
You only have to look at the key art movements in the 20th century, say the Slade school, which included some of the 20th Century’s greatest artists: Augustus John, Mark Gertler, Paul Nash, Stanley Spencer to name but a few; or the post-Impressionist Camden Town Group, among them Harold Gilman and Robert Bevan, who would gather at Walter Sickert’s studio; or the Royal College of Art graduates of the early 1960s such as Patrick Caulfield, David Hockney and R.B. Kitaj, to see how important these connections were.

Your May sale has a fabulous 'mobile' by Lynn Chadwick. What makes these sculptures so special?
Very few of Chadwick’s earliest sculptures survive. He started making mobiles in 1946 whilst training as an architect with the earliest examples made from balsa wood and aluminium, demonstrating extraordinary fragility, moving in the slightest gust of air. A qualified pilot, Chadwick also took a welding course in 1950 and his works showed remarkable knowledge of materials. I am very excited to see this work in our sale as it was unknown, having been gifted to a friend directly by the artist; similar examples can be found in the Tate and MoMA, New York.

There is currently a Moore exhibition at the Tate Britain and you have a fine example of moore’s draughtmanship in your may sale. What gives Moore's work such lasting appeal?
We have a fine work on paper by Moore in the sale, Seated Family Group 1944. Again, a gift from the artist, it was known to have existed but has never before been exhibited as it has remained in the same hands ever since, so it is very exciting to be able to present it to a wider audience. Not suprisingly, the exhibition at Tate Britain has been incredibly well received and its reputation as a ‘must see’ is richly deserved. Moore is one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century, showing true innovation from his use of a wide variety of materials to his ever-evolving technique.

The Henry Moore exhibition runs through 8 August 2010 at the Tate Britain.