PHILADELPHIA, PA.- With fresh exhibitions receiving attention from international press and installations of new work trending on social media, British Contemporary Art is experiencing a much deserved turn in the art world's spotlight. Luckily for those stateside, the British have arrived here in America. In Philadelphia, Freeman's November 1 auction of Modern & Contemporary Art is highlighted by a bevy of fashionable British artists, including works by John Hoyland, Lynne Chadwick and William Scott.

“In my eyes, John Hoyland was an artist who was never afraid to push the boundaries. His paintings always feel like a massive celebration of life to me,” says famed young British artist, entrepreneur, and art collector Damien Hirst. Launching Newport Street Gallery in early October, Hirst’s inaugural exhibition Power Stations celebrates his private collection of work done by John Hoyland from 1964 – 1982; being described as beautifully curated and “a timely reassessment of an artist who certainly deserves much more attention than he has received so far” by art critic Louis Buck of The Art Newspaper.

This prominent London show adds to the excitement of Freeman’s upcoming auction of Modern & Contemporary Art in Philadelphia, which features an excellent early work by Hoyland, Lot 84 entitled “9.1.75” (Estimate $20,000-30,000) from a private collection. Described as “a more unusual color combination for that time” the Hoyland Studio has confirmed this example.

Lynn Chadwick is another of the British artists featured. A multi-figure composition, lot 29 “Winged Figures Version II” (Estimate $80,000-100,000) displays many elements of his unique visual language. With a boldly distinctive style and an innovative working method, Lynn Chadwick became one of the twentieth-century’s most celebrated British artists. Only six years after his first solo exhibition at Gimpel Fils in 1950, Chadwick was awarded the International Sculpture Prize at the XXVII Venice Biennale in 1956. This work, from a private collection, is already attracting international interest.

This offering of Chadwick at auction is timely considering the recent unveiling of a six-foot bronze sculpture, called 'Sitting Couple on Bench,' installed alongside the canal by Kings Place, London, on view now through November 28. The sculpture is part of the 'Conjunction' exhibition at Pangolin London, which will feature artwork from Lynn Chadwick and Geoffrey Clarke. Closer to home, the Berman Museum recently opened the exhibition “Tyger, Tyger Lynn Chadwick and the Art of Now. “ Chadwick’s work is described as having “a unique, if not peculiar relationship with time as it seems to not only represent the present day, but simultaneously the ancient and future.”

Of great interest is The Collection of Jerome and Elaine Kurtz which is international in scope includes paintings by William Scott and Antoni Tapies and sculpture by Pablo Picasso, George Rickey and Harry Bertoia. The collection spans Modernism to Minimalism.

British artist William Scott’s much celebrated oeuvre included many subjects and by the 1950s, Scott had developed his own unique treatment of the time-honored ‘still-life’. Although friendly with American contemporaries such as abstract expressionists Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning, Scott’s work was distinctly set apart--grounded in European tradition and defined by his own reductive, simplified treatment of form exemplified in lot 60 “Change Back” (Estimate $50,000-80,000).

By the 1960’s, Scott was one of Britain’s most celebrated painters with works in major shows in London, Tokyo, Paris, Brussels, Copenhagen, Oslo and Rotterdam. As he described of his own work, “I am an abstract artist in the sense that I abstract. I cannot be called non-figurative while I am still interested in the modern magic of space, primitive sex forms, the sensual and the erotic, disconcerting contours, the things of life.”

PAFA and Philadelphia Artists
Freeman;s will also present a fine selection of fresh works by artists associated with Philadelphia and especially the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA). These include an Op Art painting by Enda Andrade (lot 76), a monumental work by Jimmy Lueders (lot 154), a still-life by Jane Piper (lot 155), and two abstract floral pieces by Bill Scott (lots 156,157).

The Modern & Contemporary Art viewing and auction will take place at 1808 Chestnut Street.