10th Jun, 2026 12:00

Live Sale: Fine Paintings, Works on Paper and Sculpture June 2026

 
Lot 54
 


Lot 54 - GWYTHER IRWIN (BRITISH 1931-2008)
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54

⊕ GWYTHER IRWIN (BRITISH 1931-2008)

TWO INTO ONE WILL GO
signed, titled and dated 'Two into One Will Go' / no.12 / 2nd Series / 1983 / Gwyther Irwin lower left
watercolour and brush and pen and ink on paper
68.5 x 91 cm; 27 x 36in
84 x 107 cm; 33 x 42in (framed)

Irwin spent most of his life in North Cornwall. In 1964, he represented Britain at the Venice Biennale along with Joe Tilson, Bernard Meadows and Roger Hilton. His early work consisted primarily of complex collages made up of newspapers and advertisements collected off the street which he assembled to achieve extremely subtle and delicate colouration. In the 1980s, Irwin's earlier tonal and almost monochromatic collages gave way to works of great complexity and vibrant colour. 'Two Into One Will Go' sits chronologically between his exhibition at Kettle's Yard, Cambridge in 1981 and a retrospective at Gimpels Fils, London in 1987.

Provenance
Sale, Rosebery's London, 12th March 2024, lot 366
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner
Unsold

 
TWO INTO ONE WILL GO
signed, titled and dated 'Two into One Will Go' / no.12 / 2nd Series / 1983 / Gwyther Irwin lower left
watercolour and brush and pen and ink on paper
68.5 x 91 cm; 27 x 36in
84 x 107 cm; 33 x 42in (framed)

Irwin spent most of his life in North Cornwall. In 1964, he represented Britain at the Venice Biennale along with Joe Tilson, Bernard Meadows and Roger Hilton. His early work consisted primarily of complex collages made up of newspapers and advertisements collected off the street which he assembled to achieve extremely subtle and delicate colouration. In the 1980s, Irwin's earlier tonal and almost monochromatic collages gave way to works of great complexity and vibrant colour. 'Two Into One Will Go' sits chronologically between his exhibition at Kettle's Yard, Cambridge in 1981 and a retrospective at Gimpels Fils, London in 1987.

Provenance
Sale, Rosebery's London, 12th March 2024, lot 366
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Auction: Live Sale: Fine Paintings, Works on Paper and Sculpture June 2026, 10th Jun, 2026

L.S. Lowry’s expansive Figures on a Beach (lot 39) is the lead painting in our June sale that ranges from the Old Masters to Modern British and post-War & Contemporary. Many of the works have been in the same collection for decades; a number have fascinating stories attached.

The first seven lots of Dutch and Flemish Old Masters are from the collection of Paul Wertheimer. Acquired almost hundred years ago, Wertheimer brought the works to England when he fled Germany in 1938. Leading the group are 17th century panels attributed to Moses van Uyttenbroeck and Lucas van Uden, the latter a reduced copy of Rubens’ original in the Royal Collection (lots 1 & 4). Another early panel, a portrait of Cornelisz. Van Beresteyn, is by a follower of Michiel Jansz. van Miereveld (lot 9).

Works by fellow artists and friends Augustus John and Edgar Augustus ‘Loben’ Slade (lots 20-25) feature John’s early portrait of Loben and five works on paper by the lesser known Slade, nephew of the founder of the Slade School of Art, one of which is a watercolour of Jessie McNeill, John’s model, muse and mistress.   

Also in the sale are seven works by Australian artists, including Jeffrey Smart, William Blamire Young and Leonard French, all from a private collection in Surrey (lots 30-36), and ten paintings from a Cheshire Collection that features the work of Helen Bradley, Edouard Cortes and Marcel Dyf together with bracing coastal views by Campbell Archibald Mellon (lots 40-48).

A small and fascinating work on paper is by Paul Nash. It captures the view of Harry Rocks off Ballard Down from Nash's flat in Swanage where he was living in the mid-1930s and which he incorporated into his Surrealist work ahead of the major Surrealist exhibition in London of 1936 (lot 27).

Beside the Lowry beach scene, other post-War works include an important early sculpture by James Tower (lot 52), a leading sculptor-ceramicist of his generation. Other post-War abstract works include examples by Frank Avray Wilson, James Hull and Etienne Beothy (lots 50, 51, 55 & 57). 

For more information please contact us | pictures@olympiaauctions.com | +44  (0)20 7806 5541

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PUBLIC EXHIBITION:
Sunday 7th June: 12pm - 4pm
Monday 8th June: 10am - 8pm (Drinks 5 - 8pm)
Tuesday 9th June: 10am - 5pm

View all lots in this sale