Isabel Rawsthorne Sold at Auction Prices

Isabel Rawsthorne,  British 1912-1992 -  Stoats and Moon, c.1984 (with 'Dancers' on the reverse), c

Isabel Rawsthorne,  British 1912-1992 -  Stoats and Moon, c.1984 (with 'Dancers' on the reverse), c.1970s;  oil on canvas, signed with monogram lower right, 76.5 x 51 cm (unframed) (ARR)  Note:  the artist was known variously as Isabel Nicholas, Isabel Delmer and Isabel Lambert.  The related work, 'Stoats and Moon, c.1985' (private collection), is reproduced in Carol Jacobi's 'Out of the Cage: The Art of Isabel Rawsthorne' (Thames & Hudson, 2021).  This work is from the artist's 'Migrations' series, which reflect her experiences of the Essex countryside, where she lived after the war. Here the scale is simultaneously micro and macroscopic, with vegetal and animal forms floating in abstract shapes of colour that could equally be a view down a microscope or of a constellation. The form of the stoat floating in a blue sphere is depicted twice, one more detailed than the other, evoking a sense of a developing organism within a cell.  'Dancers' on the reverse of the work was inspired by Rawsthorne's experiences of working as a set and costume designer for the The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera, from 1951 to 1961. She came to this work through her second husband, Constant Lambert, who was a composer and Founder Music Director of The Royal Ballet. She would frequently sketch and paint ballet dancers and in her work was interested in depicting an ephemeral sense of the human body. Examples of these works 'Svetlana Beriosova – Study of Ballet Dancer (1)' and 'Study of a Ballet Dancer (2)' are now in the collection of Fry Art Gallery.  Alongside her painting, Rawsthorne is celebrated for her position in European cultural circles across the 20th century, being associated with and depicted by figures including Jacob Epstein, Alberto Giacometti and André Derain. 

Isabel Rawsthorne,  British 1912-1992 -  Baboon;  oil on canvas, signed with monogram lower right,

Isabel Rawsthorne,  British 1912-1992 -  Baboon;  oil on canvas, signed with monogram lower right, 77 x 52 cm (unframed) (ARR)  Provenance:  Private collection and thence by descent  Note:  the artist was known variously as Isabel Nicholas, Isabel Delmer and Isabel Lambert.  This work relates to the 'Baboon and Child, c.1964’ now in the Tate Collection and reflects the unique language of figurative painting Rawsthorne developed alongside her friends Francis Bacon and Peter Rose Pulham in the Post-War period. Bacon and Rawsthorne would go on to share an exhibition at the Hanover Gallery in 1949 and their relationship was a major feature of the recent exhibition 'Francis Bacon: Human Presence' at the National Portrait Gallery. Rawsthorne had made sketches at London Zoo throughout her life and in 1947 was elected Zoological Society of London Fellow. Like Bacon she was drawn to the baboon as a reflection of man's animalistic nature, here the vigorous yet delicate brushwork evoking a tension between physicality and fragility. Rawsthorne returned to the theme in the 1960s as a result of her experiences working at the Zaria Art School in Nigeria.  Alongside her painting, Rawsthorne is celebrated for her position in European cultural circles across the 20th century, being associated with and depicted by figures including Jacob Epstein, Alberto Giacometti and André Derain. 

Francis Bacon (1909-1992) (after) Portrait of Isabel Rawsthorne standing in a street, Oslo

Francis Bacon (1909-1992) (after) Portrait of Isabel Rawsthorne standing in a street, Oslo Offset lithograph printed in colours, 1968, signed and inscribed 'For Gordon House from Francis Bacon' in blue ink, on thin wove paper, with full margins, sheet 762 x 507mm (30 x 20in) (unframed) This lot is sold subject to Artists Resale Rights, details of which can be found in our Terms and Conditions.

Francis Bacon (1909-1992) Study for Head of Isabel Rawsthorne an

Francis Bacon (1909-1992) Study for Head of Isabel Rawsthorne and George Dyer oil on canvas, in two parts each: 14 x 12in. (35.5 x 30.5cm.)

Isabel Rawsthorne (1912-1922) Still Life - Briars and Shells

bears 'The Woods Gallery' and 'Memorial Retrospective' labels verso

Isabel Lambert (nee.Rawsthorne) British, 1912-1992 Beriosova 78 x 58 cm (30 3/4 x 23 in)