11th Oct, 2023 12:00
From the Studio: Works from Eleven Artists' Estates
24
⊕ MICHAEL ROTHENSTEIN (BRITISH 1908-1993)
Michael Rothenstein (lots 24-30)
Introduction
Michael Rothenstein was born in Hampstead where he grew up on Church Row, the youngest child and second son of William Rothenstein and Alice (née Knewstub) (lots 1-13). He studied painting at Chelsea Polytechnic and the Central School of Arts and Crafts (1924-27), and had an early solo exhibition at the Warren Gallery on Maddox Street, London W1 in 1931. His fluid youthful style is reflected in such faintly satirical works as Making Hay (lot 24).
Rothenstein suffered from bouts of depression, but towards the end of the ‘thirties painted a series of bravura landscapes (lots 25-28) a selection of which he exhibited at the Matthiesen Gallery in 1938. After War broke out, his careful observation of the English countryside made him well suited to participating in the Pilgrim Trust Recording Britain project set up by Sir Kenneth Clark. But thereafter increasingly Rothenstein turned to print making.
Among his early successful prints was Timber Felling (1945), which he made for the School Prints Series to give children an understanding of contemporary art. He also made drawings for the War Artists Committee. And he visited S W Hayter’s Atelier 17 in Paris, returning to England to make colour etchings. In 1954 he moved to Great Bardfield in Essex, home to a thriving coterie of artists, amongst them Edward Bawden and Kenneth Rountree, where he set up a graphic workshop while also teaching at Camberwell School of Art and Stoke-on-Trent College of Art. (lots 29 & 30).
During the 1950s and ‘60s Rothenstein burnished his reputation as one of the most experimental print makers in Britain. Accolades included winning the Giles Bequest Competition for colour woodcuts and linocuts in 1954 and 1956. He lectured extensively, wrote several books on the subject, amongst them Frontiers of Printmaking (1966), and was instrumental in the formation of the printmakers Council, serving as its first chairman. In 1977 he was voted ARA, and in 1984 RA.
MICHAEL ROTHENSTEIN (BRITISH 1908-1993)
MAKING HAY
signed and dated Michael Rothenstein 1931 upper left
gouache
65 x 60cm; 25 1/2 x 23 3/4 in
80 x 76 cm; 31 1/2 x 30in (framed)
Sold for £500
Michael Rothenstein (lots 24-30)
Introduction
Michael Rothenstein was born in Hampstead where he grew up on Church Row, the youngest child and second son of William Rothenstein and Alice (née Knewstub) (lots 1-13). He studied painting at Chelsea Polytechnic and the Central School of Arts and Crafts (1924-27), and had an early solo exhibition at the Warren Gallery on Maddox Street, London W1 in 1931. His fluid youthful style is reflected in such faintly satirical works as Making Hay (lot 24).
Rothenstein suffered from bouts of depression, but towards the end of the ‘thirties painted a series of bravura landscapes (lots 25-28) a selection of which he exhibited at the Matthiesen Gallery in 1938. After War broke out, his careful observation of the English countryside made him well suited to participating in the Pilgrim Trust Recording Britain project set up by Sir Kenneth Clark. But thereafter increasingly Rothenstein turned to print making.
Among his early successful prints was Timber Felling (1945), which he made for the School Prints Series to give children an understanding of contemporary art. He also made drawings for the War Artists Committee. And he visited S W Hayter’s Atelier 17 in Paris, returning to England to make colour etchings. In 1954 he moved to Great Bardfield in Essex, home to a thriving coterie of artists, amongst them Edward Bawden and Kenneth Rountree, where he set up a graphic workshop while also teaching at Camberwell School of Art and Stoke-on-Trent College of Art. (lots 29 & 30).
During the 1950s and ‘60s Rothenstein burnished his reputation as one of the most experimental print makers in Britain. Accolades included winning the Giles Bequest Competition for colour woodcuts and linocuts in 1954 and 1956. He lectured extensively, wrote several books on the subject, amongst them Frontiers of Printmaking (1966), and was instrumental in the formation of the printmakers Council, serving as its first chairman. In 1977 he was voted ARA, and in 1984 RA.
MICHAEL ROTHENSTEIN (BRITISH 1908-1993)
MAKING HAY
signed and dated Michael Rothenstein 1931 upper left
gouache
65 x 60cm; 25 1/2 x 23 3/4 in
80 x 76 cm; 31 1/2 x 30in (framed)
Auction: From the Studio: Works from Eleven Artists' Estates, 11th Oct, 2023
