LONDON.- Roseberys 4 October Modern and Contemporary Prints auction marked the company’s first foray in to a series of specialist auctions. Results from the sale were impressive with 75% of the 300 lot sale selling for £123,708 (including buyer’s premium at 20%)

Roseberys Managing Director Ian Cadzow said: “We are very pleased with the results from Roseberys first Modern and Contemporary Prints sale. The prices achieved are encouraging, and reflective of calibre of work from the wide range of artists included in the sale. Roseberys continued growth over the last few years has provided us with the perfect platform to launch a calendar of specialist sales from all disciplines, of which this was the first.”

Howard Hodgkin’s Here We Are in Croydon was a particular highlight of the sale. The print sold by Roseberys was an artist’s proof, aside from the numbered edition of 100. It was made after a trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma in the United States, and depicts a room visited by Hodgkin during his visit. The room had been flamboyantly decorated by Jean Harlow’s husband. Hodgkin took inspiration for the artwork from a witty remark made by a friend who later visited the same room.

Straddling the genres of pop art and abstract art, Sir Howard Hodgkin is a spontaneous artist who uses bold forms and colours to create emotionally charged figurative works. He was first drawn to printmaking by an aspiration to create multiples, and many of his prints have been created for individuals on commission. The print sold for £3,480. [Lot 7]

Prints by Australian artists proved popular with buyers and several lots soared over estimate to achieve outstanding results. Of particular interest was a woodblock printed in colour by the Australian artist Cressida Campbell. Entitled Alison the work was from the estate of the late English poet Christopher Logue CBE, who was associated with the British Poetry Revival and a pacifist. A letter from the artist to Christopher Logue accompanied the lot which was fiercely fought over by bidders in the phone and online. The work sold for £3,840, against a pre-sale estimate of £300-500 [Lot36]

A 1964 screenprint in colours by the Sydney born avant-garde artist Brett Whitling also performed well, selling for £1,560 against a pre-sale estimate of £300-350. Both prints were purchased by Australian buyers, with fierce bidding from the UK market.

Elsewhere in the sale the 46 screenprints and collages comprising Sir Eduardo Paolozzi’s Bunk! proved to be equally popular. Considered by many to be the earliest examples of pop art from the artist that became one of the founders of the British Pop Art movement. The title of the folio of work is short for bunkham (an American slang term for rubbish) and it encapsulates the artists’ preoccupation with American consumerism, popular culture and technology.

The Scottish sculptor and artist is considered a highly innovative artist. He used a variety of ideas and influences in contrast throughout his work, allowing the viewer to see both the confusion and the inspiration. The portfolio sold for £1,320. [Lot 158]

Remembered as one of the most distinguished Pakistani artists of the 20th century, Abdur Rahman Chughtai is one of the few Pakistani artists to be recognised in India before and after the 1947 partition.

Trained at the Mayo School of Art in Lahore, he was taught by Samarendranath Gupta, himself a pupil of Abanindranath Tagore. Chughtai was highly influenced by Mughal art, miniature painting, Art Nouveau and Islamic art traditions, all of which can be seen in Rain Falls, the stunning etching with aquatint which sold for £1,740. [Lot 132]