Sale:
SE48 (04 Nov 2008)
Auction Lot:
0047
Estimate: £2,000-3,000
Realised: £5,300
Three Sèvres plates and a soup plate with marks for Leve, Commelin and Massey, datecode
for 1788.
Sale:
SE48 (04 Nov 2008)
Auction Lot:
0151
Estimate: £6,000-£8,000
Realised: £15,500
Faberge white guilloche enamelled cane handle, struck with marks for Henrik Wigstrom.
Sale:
SE48 (05 Nov 2008)
Auction Lot:
0410
Estimate: £4,000-£5,000
Realised: £11,500
Ferdinand Preiss (1882-1943) 'Con Brio' an Art Deco cold painted bronze and ivory
figure.
Robert O Lenkiewicz (1941-2002): A Private Collection
Robert O Lenkiewicz (1941-2002): Lisa Stokes Holding A Mirror
Painter with Lisa Stokes, signed twice and inscribed oil on canvas 119 x 89cm. Sale
SF16 Lot 9 Estimate: £40,000-60,000.
Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood are offering a private collection of pictures by Robert
Lenkiewicz (1941-2002) for auction in Exeter on Saturday, 20th March 2010.
The collection represents an outstanding group of pictures which date from the 1950s
to the last few months of Lenkiewicz's life.
Two of the major paintings in the collection are The Crucifixion and The
Last Supper (lots 52 & 53), which were works in progress in 2002 and were
housed in purpose built rooms in The Theology Studio on the Barbican in Plymouth,
where they remained until the premises were cleared and they were removed to secure
storage.
Among the rest of the collection are iconic Lenkiewicz paintings. Bernadette Travail
(Yana) in Crimson Top (lot 10) is a major work from 'Project 18, The Painter
with Women: Observations on the Theme of The Double', (1994), and this is complemented
by an outstanding group of portraits of women including two of Lisa Stokes, lots
8 and 9, and the powerful period portrait Study of The French Girl (lot
1), which on a small scale captures the intensity of the engagement between
artist and sitter in the context of exploring human emotion and behaviour. Contrast
this with the huge Last Supper canvas and one has a snapshot of the vast
range and incredible output of Lenkiewicz as a painter.
On a similar scale to the Study of The French Girl, the earliest painting,
the 1958 self-portrait of Lenkiewicz (lot 4), demonstrates a confident, spontaneous
use of paint and a characteristic and skilful understanding of tone which became
hallmarks of Lenkiewicz. The close picture plane and tight composition indicate
intense observation and exploration of character.
Cider Ryder with The Singer and Archie The Liar at Bath Street (lot 28)
is a monumental work of the highest quality. It is majestic, provocative and extraordinary;
empowering the subjects with religious importance and ironically emphasising their
place on the fringes of society.
Mary on The Studio Floor (lot 25) is a beautiful portrait that captures
the tension, loneliness and tragedy within the relationship between painter and
subject. It contains symbolism that recurs in other major paintings. The torn and
folded papers are fragments of the 'paper crowns' or magi fools hats (see Robert
Lenkiewicz. Paintings & Projects: White Lane Press, pl.45), the wax candles
and candlelight are a reference to mortality and recur in the Death Bed,
(sold by Bearnes
at Westpoint in 2008 for £96,000), and the symbolic paper cup can be interpreted
as a metaphor for loss and emptiness.
When Robert Lenkiewicz died there was a small permanent exhibition hanging in a
gallery called The Annexe on the Barbican. In pride of place was the painting of
Robbie (lot 2), part of the unfinished Project 20: Addictive Behaviour,
which is an excellent example of the level of intense observation which encapsulates
the importance of the individual interpreted by Lenkiewicz. There is a huge amount
of hearsay and rumour around Lenkiewicz and picture owners regularly claim that
Robert told them theirs was one of his 'greatest ever works' (which no doubt he
did). The painting of Robbie was clearly one of his favourite and most highly treasured,
and it would be fair to say that there are a number of other paintings in this collection
that rank alongside it.
- Robert O Lenkiewicz (1941-2002)
- Special Sale
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About the Author
 | Daniel Goddard
Pictures
Daniel Goddard is a Director of Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood. He is also Head of Picture Department.
Daniel Goddard attended The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and the US Military Academy at West Point and in 1982 was commissioned into the Queen's Regiment serving in Northern Ireland, The Falklands, Canada and the UK.
In 1988, he travelled to Auckland, New Zealand, to play rugby and attended The Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea. On his return to the family home in East Devon, Daniel joined Lawrence's in Crewkerne (Somerset) as a porter and progressed to valuation and rostrum work.
In 1996, Daniel joined Bearne's to head the Works of Art Department and, having in the meantime gained an Open University degree in Art History and Humanities, became Head of the Picture Department. He continues to run this busy department in the merged firm of Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood.
Daniel Goddard has been a director of the firm since 1999 and is an experienced valuer with a broad range of knowledge and specialist expertise in paintings.
He has recently catalogued and organised two major sales of paintings by Robert Lenkiewicz (1941-2002), which raised in excess of £3 million.
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Robert O Lenkiewicz was written on Friday, 12th March 2010.