Blackfriars Bridge

Details

JOHN MINTON (1917-1957)
Blackfriars Bridge
signed and dated 'John Minton 1947' (upper right)
ink, watercolour, gouache and wax crayon on paper
10 x 14 3⁄4 in. (25.4 x 37.5 cm.)
Executed in 1947.

Provenance

Acquired from the 1988 exhibition.

Literature

H.M. Tomlinson, 'London River: Three Pictures Painted for 'Lilliput' by John Minton', Lilliput, July 1947, n.p., as 'Blackfriars Bridge, with Unilever House and the City of London School, an unfamiliar view from London's left bank'.
F. Spalding, Dance Till the Stars Come Down: a biography of John Minton, London, 1991, p. 103, pl. 10, as 'St Pauls from the River, Blackfriars Bridge'.
S. Martin and F. Spalding, exhibition catalogue, John Minton: A Centenary, Chichester, Pallant House Gallery, 2017, pp. 34-5, 123, exhibition not numbered, fig. 30.

Exhibited

London, Thomas Agnew & Sons, Modern British Exhibition 1877-1988, November - December 1988, no. 172, as 'On the Thames'.
Chichester, Pallant House Gallery, John Minton: A Centenary, July - October 2017, exhibition not numbered.

Special notice

Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Amelia Walker Director, Specialist Head of Private & Iconic Collections

awalker@christies.com +44 20 7389 2085

Lot Essay

Minton’s enjoyment of the Thames brought him two commissions in 1947: a drawing titled ‘London Docks’ for the May magazine Our Time, and three pictures based on the Thames for the July issue of Lilliput, for which H.M. Tomlinson wrote a brief commentary (see also lot 204). Kaye Webb, formerly Lilliput’s art editor, recollected, in conversation with Frances Spalding, that Minton first produced black-and-white ink and wash drawings and was not at all annoyed when asked to rethink the designs in colour. ‘Blackfriars Bridge’ is one of these.

We are very grateful to Frances Spalding for preparing this catalogue entry.

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