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John Craxton RA (1922-2009) ▴ John Craxton RA (1922-2009) Cat and butterfly a reproduction print with hand-colouring, inscribed 'to wish Joanna & Christopher a very happy christmas nineteen eighty eight with love from John' around the edge sheet 13.5 x 17.5cm Provenance: A gift from the artist Joanna Carrington and her husband, the artist and film director Christopher Mason, to the current vendors - as seen on the inscription. Christopher Mason and John Craxton were good friends and spent time together in Greece. Condition Report: Framed: 19.5 x 24cm The work has been trimmed and stuck down to a sheet of grey card. There is a light ripple to the upper right. Not viewed out of glazed frame.
John Craxton RA, British 1922-2009 - Samiotissa, 1982; pencil and chalk on paper signed lower left 'Craxton', 58.3 x 45.4 cm (ARR) Provenance: Christopher Hull Gallery, London (according to the label attached to the reverse of the frame); Charles Goodman, purchased in 1985; private collection Exhibited: Christopher Hull Gallery, London, 'Portraits 1942-1992', no.18 (according to the label attached to the reverse of the frame) Note: This charming portrait displays Craxton’s observational expertise and subtlety of technique. It originates from the beginning of a series of exhibitions with Christopher Hull gallery between 1982 and 1993. Early in his career Craxton shared a studio in London with Lucien Freud and developed close ties and friendships with many other notable British artists such as Graham Sutherland, Robert Colquhoun and John Piper. As soon as possible after the war, Craxton set off for the Mediterranean where he developed a strong fascination with Arcadian life, fueling his art for much of his career. Craxton became a Royal Academician in 1993 and his works are held in the Tate and V&A collections among many others. His work was recently the subject of major touring show launched at the Benaki Museum in 2022. Pallant House Gallery is also showing a retrospective ‘John Craxton: A Modern Odyssey’ beginning October 2023.
John Craxton R.A. (British, 1922-2009) Summer Triptych (Boy on Wall, Girl on the Seashore, Goat and Tree) tempera on board 142 x 60.5 cm. (55 7/8 x 23 5/8 in.); 142.3 x 59.7 cm. (56 x 23 1/2 in.); 142.8 x 60.4 cm. (56 1/4 x 23 3/4 in.) Painted circa 1958
§ John Craxton R.A. (British 1922-2009) Artichokes, 1987 signed and dated in pen (lower left), pastel on paper (32.5cm x 49.5cm (12 3/4in x 19 1/2in)) We would like to thank Richard Riley and the John Craxton Estate for their assistance in cataloguing this work.
JOHN CRAXTON, R.A. (1922-2009) The Bouzouki Player JOHN CRAXTON, R.A. (1922-2009) /The Bouzouki Player/ signed and dated 'Craxton .56.' (lower left) gouache on paper 11 3/4 x 9 1/4 in. (29.7 x 23.5 cm.) Executed in 1956.
John Craxton RA (1922-2009) ▴ John Craxton RA (1922-2009) Figures outside a cottage in Wales signed 'Craxton' l.l., indistinctly inscribed and dated 44 l.r., with a sketch of the cottage and figure studies in pencil verso, gouache with pencil and pen and ink 19 x 24.5cm We are grateful to Richard Riley for his assistance in the cataloguing of this lot. Condition Report: Framed size 35 x 41cm As viewed through frame, there do not appear to be any condition issues. Out of frame, the paper taped town to mount. Additional old tape and staining to back of paper.
John Craxton R.A. (British, 1922-2009) Night Ravine Etching with carborundum and aquatint, 1971, on wove, signed, titled, dated and inscribed 'artist's proof' in pencil, with wide margins, 475 x 230mm (18 5/8 x 9in)(PL) For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
John Craxton (British, 1922-2009) Sun, Cat and Bird, 1986-88 acrylic tempera on canvas signed Craxton and dated (lower left) 13 1/2 x 19 1/4 inches. Property from the Carmen S. Holeman Trust, Indianapolis, Indiana Provenance: Christopher Hull Gallery, London Acquired from the above by Mr. and Mrs. Mark Holeman in 1988 Exhibited: London, England, Christopher Hull Gallery, John Craxton Recent Work, October 4-November 5, 1988
John Craxton (British, 1922-2009) Still Life with Three Sailors, 1982-1987 tempera on canvas signed in Greek and dated 50 x 63 inches. Property from the Carmen S. Holeman Trust, Indianapolis, Indiana Included with this lot is a letter about the painting from the artist to Mr. Mark Holeman. Provenance: Christopher Hull Gallery, London Acquired from the above by Mr. and Mrs. Mark Holeman in 1987 Literature: Ian Collins, John Craxton, Farnham, UK: Lund Humphries, 2011, 152. Lot Essay: John Craxton and the Pursuit of Arcadia The charisma of British artist John Craxton (1922-2009), along with his dislike of art historical interpretation of his own work, has unfortunately allowed for a certain undervaluation of his artwork, in favor of stories about his personal antics. This has been especially true of his late career works, often characterized as overly sunny, cheerful, and non-critical: the output of a man enjoying his leisurely life in Crete, as he had for many years.[i] In this centenary year of Craxton’s birth, it is important to revisit these claims, as scholars contend with his legacy in a year-long series of exhibitions, currently underway at the Benaki Museum (Athens). This charge of artistic flippancy belies such works as Still Life with Three Sailors (1987), a late masterpiece, which, through a complex composition defined by color and line indebted to the Greek art historical tradition and full of visual and verbal puns, makes a strong statement about arcadia denied. Craxton, born to a London bohemian family deeply involved in arts and music, moved to Greece first in 1947, spending much of his life in Chania on Crete and returning yearly in 1977, after leaving when the junta dictatorship took over in the mid-1960s.[ii] From the 1940s and on, Craxton became known for his bright Mediterranean palette and themes and his own adoption of village life.[iii] Still Life with Three Sailors is heavily influenced by time spent holding court in tavernas, as three men with dark, curly hair sit down to drink around a table laden with food. Craxton developed this composition for over eight years before completing the first version of this painting ((Still Life with Three Sailors (1980-1985), Private Collection)), and the presently offered second larger version finished two years later.[iv] Craxton—in a letter included with this lot—referred to this painting as the “final + best version.” Christopher Hull represented both versions; Hull was so impressed with Craxton’s work that he flew to Crete in 1981, arriving at Craxton’s door with bribes of whiskey and cigars to woe the artist to his roster.[v] The first version was a centerpiece of the Craxton British Museum exhibition in 2018, discussed by both scholar Ian Collins and Patrick “Paddy” Leigh Fermor, poet and Craxton’s long-time friend in Greece. The scene arranges three men in a row. The two on the ends wear sailor suits, flapped collars included, while the center man, without naval uniform, probes a plate of French fries. The structure owes much to the Byzantine Holy Trinity icon where three angels, Old Testament guests of Abraham and Sarah, are depicted, sitting down to a meal around a small table in a similar composition.[vi] Craxton highly revered Byzantine art and his interest in its aesthetic directly informed his practice.[vii] Craxton particularly admired and drew influence from the limited palette and flattened perspectives of this style, favoring shallow spaces that open up to the viewer as opposed to the Western-point perspective that draws in the viewer.[viii] Connecting icons to the Cubists—another inspiration—, he said, “The good ones inverted perspective—exactly what the Cubists thought they’d invented.”[ix] As in the Holy Trinity icon, three men are arranged in an oval composition. The knees of the two flanking men face each other. The naval hats precariously balanced on a chair in the lower center complete the oval. The table’s plane tilts down, impossibly but elegantly, so the viewer may see the entirety of its surface. In contrast to the icon where the three angels look at and acknowledge each other, Craxton’s sailors glaringly isolate themselves from their tablemates, at once apart and a part of the shared meal. Craxton—a lover of good food and conversation— said that “The most beautiful sound in the world is of other people talking over a meal.”[x] So conspicuous then is the absence of interaction among the sailors. The leftmost sailor uses his left hand to prop himself up but also to barricade himself from his companions, staring off into an unknown distance. The center man looks only at his next bite, presenting a shielding shoulder to the man on the left, his left hand holding a wine glass buffer against the man at his right. The rightmost sailor drinks with his eyes completely closed, alone in thought or overindulgence. Craxton’s Chania home was close to the Souda Bay naval base, and Craxton had many relationships with sailors. Leigh Fermor was reminded when looking at this painting’s first version of these sailors “not knowing where to go, not at all happy at being in Crete, and sad and homesick for their islands and harbours. The look will vanish after a few drinks…”[xi] Wistfulness surrounds these men, trapped in this taverna. Craxton’s use of line and color emphasizes this feeling, creating division and heightening flatness, artificiality, and the sense of interiority. Bright contour lines unify the scene, outlining forms in greens, yellows, and orange, a stark contrast to the predominantly blue palette, as though defined by Byzantine mosaic tesserae. This is one of the biggest differences with the prior composition of Still Life with Three Sailors and this painting. While the first includes these distinguishing contours, they are in more muted shades and the sailors’ clothes are in whiter tones, with more background shades of magenta, yellow, and green. However, this painting’s color scheme favors blues, teals, and dark purples—except the meal components, popping on the table as tempting bright green, fuchsia, and yellow— while the contours glow like neon, both heightening the overall compositional balance while also emphasizing the figures’ individual division. These bold electrified lines heighten the theatrics, as the sailors are bathed in artificial taverna light. The lighting, emphasizing Craxton’s Cubist influence, is particularly complex, as unseen light sources individually spotlight each sailor, leading to the especially impressive shadows fracturing beneath the table. Additionally, a yellow line defines the space along the painting’s top edges, further separating the table vignette from other potential patrons, while the solid teal background likewise limits the depth, keeping the plane intentionally shallow. Craxton was renowned for his love of visual and verbal puns, which abound in his work.[xii] The date and his signature are cleverly hidden here for the viewer to discover—an 87 snaking around the wine bottle and KPA?TON—the artist’s name in Greek—the branding on a cigarettes package. As early as 1943, he used cuttlefish and squid as emblematic puns on his name— kraken to Craxton—and a plate of calamari is found at the table’s center.[xiii] As in Byzantine art, where lettering—often in all caps— identifies the scene, here too does the bar sign enlighten, reading: BREAKING [PLATES] IS NOT ALLOWED PER LAW 4000. Law 4000 (1958), abolished as late as 1983—during the compositional construction of this painting—, was an attempt to limit general hooliganism amid the growing Greek youth culture influenced by international punk groups, like the Teddy Boys in England.[xiv] It outlawed petty crime and disruption, especially the common act of yogurt throwing (yaourtoma), where disliked authority figures were pelted in the face with plastic yogurt cups—a still-popular, particularly Greek, form of protest.[xv] During the latter stages of his life, Craxton bemoaned Greek commercialization and globalization where, according to Collins, “Wildness was being tamed and tradition blitzed,” causing an increased note of melancholy in his works beginning the mid-1970s.[xvi] Here, through this mature masterpiece echoing Greek tradition, Craxton shows its inversion. Rather than the Greece Craxton loved, an arcadia of Mediterranean sun—a simple, traditional life of community, close to nature—, the sailors, though still beautifully bathed in Greek blues, surrounded by local food and wine, are stuck inside this interior neon artificial space, neither talking nor laughing and kept from throwing plates. Craxton suggests it would be more fun if they would. Bibliography Collins, Ian. “Chania: View of the Harbour.” In Ghika, Craxton, Leigh Fermor: Charmed Lives in Greece, 3rd Revised Edition, edited by Evita Arapoglou, 113-142. Nicosia, Cyprus: A.G. Leventis Gallery, 2018. Collins, Ian. John Craxton. Farnham, UK: Lund Humphries, 2011. Collins, Ian. “The Later Years: John Craxton.” In Ghika, Craxton, Leigh Fermor: Charmed Lives in Greece, 3rd Revised Edition, edited by Evita Arapoglou, 179-186. Nicosia, Cyprus: A.G. Leventis Gallery, 2018. Eplett, Layla. “Culture of Resistance: Protesting Greece’s Politics with Yogurt.” Scientific American. September 16, 2013. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/food-matters/culture-of-resistance-protesting-greecee28099s-politics-with-yogurt/. “The ‘Holy Trinity’ Icon—The ‘Troitsa.’” Trinity Iconography Institute. Accessed March, 9, 2022.http://www.trinityiconographers.org/five-specific-icons/. [i] Ian Collins, John Craxton (Farnham, UK: Lund Humphries, 2011), 65. [ii] Ibid., 82; 143. [iii] Stories of Craxton’s larger-than-life character in Crete abound. So complete was his embrace of life on Crete that the actress and former Greek Minister of Culture, Melina Mercouri, once hailed him as a native as he approached from a distance. He was known to speak Greek with a local dialect learned from the working class, full of swearing and slang. A maid at one of this friend’s homes once reported that a taxi-driver was calling after she answered the phone. He was known as a vital community leader often ensconced in conversation in local wine shops and tavernas, and, as he aged, sometimes hit people with a stick or his cane to emphasize a point. See: Ian Collins, “The Later Years: John Craxton,” in Ghika, Craxton, Leigh Fermor: Charmed Lives in Greece, 3rd Revised Edition, ed. Evita Arapoglou (Nicosia, Cyprus: A.G. Leventis Gallery, 2018), 179. and Collins, John Craxton, 76; 129. [iv] Collins, John Craxton, 152 [v] Ian Collins, “The Later Years: John Craxton,” 184. [vi] This iconographical depiction of the Holy Trinity was created by Andrei Rublev in 1411 and was standardized in 1551 as the accepted prototype of this Biblical scene. See: “The ‘Holy Trinity’ Icon—The ‘Troitsa’,” Trinity Iconography Institute, accessed March, 9, 2022, http://www.trinityiconographers.org/five-specific-icons/. [vii] In the 1960s, he and photographer John Donat began a project to document all of Crete’s painted churches, fearing this cultural patrimony was in danger. On several occasions, the two even tried to clean the icons themselves, for which Craxton was briefly arrested in misunderstanding 1995 as a suspected vandal. See: Collins, John Craxton, 127. [viii] Ibid., 126. [ix] Ibid. [x] Ibid, 154. [xi] Ian Collins, “Chania: View of the Harbour,” in Ghika, Craxton, Leigh Fermor: Charmed Lives in Greece, 3rd Revised Edition, edited by Evita Arapoglou (Nicosia, Cyprus: A.G. Leventis Gallery, 2018), 140. [xii] Collins, John Craxton, 58. [xiii] Ibid. [xiv] Layla Eplett, “Culture of Resistance: Protesting Greece’s Politics with Yogurt,” Scientific American, September 16, 2013, https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/food-matters/culture-of-resistance-protesting-greecee28099s-politics-with-yogurt/. [xv] Ibid. [xvi] Collins, John Craxton, 172.
John Craxton R.A. (British, 1922-2009) Moon, Bird and Water Linocut printed in black, 1977, on wove, signed, titled and numbered 45/75 in pencil, with full margins, 340 x 210mm (13 3/4 x 8 1/4in)(I) For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
John Craxton R.A. (British, 1922-2009) Portrait of an Old Man (Old Cretan) signed, inscribed and dated 'alonés 5.11.48 Craxton' (lower right) conté crayon and pencil 58.4 x 47 cm. (23 x 18 1/2 in.) For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
John Craxton R.A. (British, 1922-2009) Portrait of David 'Tivvy' Simpson signed '-Craxton-' (lower right), dedicated and dated 'for tivvy. love. Xania. Sept 82.' (lower left) charcoal, chalk and pencil on paper 35.5 x 26.5cm (14 x 10 7/16in). For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
† Attributed to John Craxton (1922-2009) English, an abstract landscape, mixed media on panel, signed and dated '55, 25.5 cm x 32.5 cm, framed and glazed. Footnote: Provenance: Private collection. Purchased from a Greek art gallery, written text verso with an illegible further label.
• JOHN CRAXTON, RA (1922 - 2009) CRETAN SHEPHERD signed and inscribed lower left Craxton Souvenir to my friend Mylonas dated lower right Sept 84 pencil, wash, gouache, pastel 20 x 25.5 cm/8 x 10 in
JOHN CRAXTON (1922-2009) Thirteen works from The Poet’s Eye one signed and inscribed For Allen Freer John Craxton (in the lower margin) offset lithograph 20.3 x 13.5 cm (8 x 5 1/4 in), and similar
John Craxton R.A. (British, 1922-2009) Winter Landscape, Dorset signed and dated '-Craxton- 1999.' (lower left); titled twice and numbered 'Winter landscape, Dorset/13' (on backboard) gouache on card 15.5 x 20cm (6 1/8 x 7 7/8in). For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
John Craxton R.A. (British, 1922-2009) A Greek Girl signed 'Craxton' (upper left) and dated 'december 29.53.' (lower left) black and white chalk on paper laid on board 43.7 x 37.5 cm. (17 1/4 x 14 3/4 in.) For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF KATHARINE 'KITTY' CHURCH JOHN CRAXTON, R.A. (1922-2009) Boy leaning on a step signed, inscribed and dated for Kitty church - John Craxton/-November 1954 (lower left) ink and gouache 60 x 46 cm (23 1/4 x 18 1/4 in) PROVENANCE: A gift from the artist to Kitty Church in 1954
JOHN CRAXTON, R.A. (1922-2009) Surreal Tree, Pembrokeshire signed '-Craxton-' (lower left) pencil and ink on paper 9√ x 8 in. (24.5 x 20 cm.) Executed in 1943. PROVENANCE: Purchased directly from the artist by the present owner. This drawing is closely related to the vignettes and ink illustrations Craxton made for Geofrey Grigson’s anthology The Poet’s Eye (1944), specifcally the drawings on pages 9 and 97 of rocks and trees together, and the lithograph between pages 26 and 27. This was just the kind of meeting of word and image that Freer enjoyed, and the pleasure he took in these Craxton purchases is easily imagined.
JOHN CRAXTON, R.A. (1922-2009) Blue Tree Root in Welsh Estuary (Picton) signed and dated '-Craxton-43-' (lower right) gouache and oil on paper laid down on panel 12¬ x 20 in. (32.2 x 50.8 cm.) Painted in 1943. PROVENANCE: with Tib Lane Gallery, Manchester, where purchased by the present owner. Craxton made a number of consistently inventive studies of washed-up trees in Welsh estuaries, such as Sandy Haven, when he was staying in Pembrokeshire in 1943 with Graham Sutherland. Often on diferent coloured papers, some are more like drawings, others — like this one — are taken to a greater degree of fnish. All relate to the black and white oil painting Welsh Estuary Foreshore (1943) in the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, one of Craxton’s more Miró-esque compositions. Blue Tree Root, on the other hand, has much in common with Sutherland, whose thoughts on landscape painting were an inspiration to Craxton. His lyrical interpretation of Welsh shores and felds also features in the pen drawings and lithographs he made to illustrate The Poet’s Eye, an anthology chosen by Geofrey Grigson (1944); from this period dates some of the fnest work he did in Great Britain before succumbing to the lure of Greece.
