LONDON, ENGLAND.- A unique sale celebrating the life and work of three of the twentieth century’s greatest British artists is to be held at Bonhams next month. Three British Artists – Graham Sutherland, John Piper and Henry Moore will be held at Bonhams, 101 New Bond Street, London, on 27 November 2006, and will highlight the remarkable achievements of this trio of British artists, regarded as the most gifted painter, the most versatile artist, and the most influential sculptor of their generation. The sale will showcase their work in all media ranging in estimate from £100 – 70,000.

“A very great landmark in the history of English art” Graham Sutherland (1903 – 1980), John Piper (1903 – 1992) and Henry Moore (1898 – 1986) first exhibited together in 1941 at Temple Newsam in Leeds, attracting over 55,000 visitors. Sir Kenneth Clark described the event “as a very great landmark in the history of English art” and indeed the three went on to become household names and to exhibit their works around the globe.

“The aim of this landmark sale is show how diverse each artist was in their approach to a variety of media, explains Robert Kennan, Head of Prints at Bonhams, who has put this sale together. “Usually artistic disciplines are confined to specific sales, so you will rarely see a Piper drawing, textile design, poster and print sold together. By combining them into one sale, I hope we can emphasis just how democratic each of their artistic visions were and how they readily accepted the challenge of different media. There is something for everyone in this sale, from the connoisseur to the first time buyer.”

Henry Moore O.M., C.H. was one of the most popular and influential artists of his generation, returning time and time again to his signature form of a reclining figure. Intrigued by the organic and natural, Moore was ultimately bewitched by the human body, and his sculptural quest into human form was both mystical and spiritual. He strove to depict the inner essence of his subject and presence, or, as he put it, 'vitality'. This seminal sale will include a bronze conceived in 1967 from an edition of 9, measuring 370mm across. ‘Reclining Figure: Cloak’ is estimated to fetch up to £70,000. A further study, in bronze with gold brown patina, conceived in 1938 and cast in 1968, is expected to fetch between £35,000 – 40,000. A portfolio of Moore’s Reclining Figures 1977 – 8 is also to be sold at £10,000 – 15,000. Further Moore works in the sale include etchings, lithographs, studies and other sculpted figures.

John Piper C.H. is renowned for his collaboration with the poet and author John Betjeman (1906 – 1984) on the Shell Guides series of guidebooks on the British Isles, and Bonhams’ sale includes a set of Piper’s ‘Brighton Aquatints’ that belonged to Betjeman – it is marked with his library’s ‘Ex Libris’ motto, and contains a print which Betjeman himself coloured. It was inscribed by Piper: 'to Penelope and John whose work this partly is JP Jan 1940.' It is expected to fetch £6,000 – 8,000.

Piper’s other work tended to focus mainly on the British landscape, particularly churches, and many studies of churches and scenes from across the country are included in Bonhams’ sale; a watercolour of St Dyffyd’s in Dyfed and of the Cornish Moors are expected to fetch between £8,000 – 12,000 each. Piper also left his mark on the new cathedral at Coventry; he designed the stained glass windows for the building, and his cartoons for the baptistery windows are also to be sold at Bonhams, with an estimate of £1,000 – 1,500. Also included is a rare pencil sketch of the artist’s wife at £600 – 800.

Rare early etchings by Sutherland chart his artistic development - Graham Sutherland O.M. is perhaps best known today for the religious pieces he produced for Coventry Cathedral, but his oeuvre extended to pastoral, landscape and abstract/ surreal subjects, and he was employed as an official artist during the Second World War. Bonhams’ sale includes a superb range of early Sutherland etchings which chart this development from traditional to more transitional works, as his landscapes take on surreal imagery and his abstract studies use nature as their core. Such pieces rarely appear at auction, particularly in this quantity. His work has recently enjoyed a revival of interest, with one of his etchings - ‘The Garden’ – fetching a record price of £10,000 at auction. Works to be sold at Bonhams, include etchings, lithographs, sketches, portfolios, ceramic tiles, and original poster artwork. Estimates range from £100 – 18,000. Particular highlights include a shell poster at £600 – 800, a ceramic table at £3,000 – 5,000, and a rare collection of working photographs and books from the artist’s studio from £600.