LONDON | HONG KONG

Exhibition of Modern British and Post-War Artists

17 – 23 May 2023

Eye of the Collector

Two Temple Place, London WC2R 3BD

For the 2023 edition of prestigious art fair, Eye of the Collector, Tanya Baxter Contemporary is delighted to hold an Exhibition of Modern British and Post-War Contemporary Artists. 

The exhibition has been curated to showcase the very best works in these categories, with outstanding paintings by William Scott, David Hockney, Lucien Freud, Tracey Emin, Sean Scully, Andy Warhol, Frank Auerbach and Bridget Riley. 

With galleries in both London and Hong Kong, Tanya Baxter boasts over 20 years’ experience in the Post-Modern, Modern British and Contemporary art markets. Her bespoke Art Advisory services cater to a prestigious clientele including multinational banks, hedge funds and luxury residential properties. 

Highlights in the exhibition include an exquisite original drawing in colour pencil on paper, “Celia in a Pink Chemise” by David Hockney, executed in 1973 in Paris. The work celebrates the artist’s close friendship with designer Celia Birtwell whom he first met in California in 1964. With her husband Ossie Clark, she was at the top of the fashion world in London in the ‘Swinging Sixties’. Hockney’s sensitive rendering of her lovely face conveys his deep fondness for his subject.

Also featured is a painting in oil on canvas, “Still Life with Pears” (1977) by William Scott (1913-1989) a British artist who was influenced by the work of both Georges Braque and Paul Klee. Characterized by flat areas of colour and descriptive lines, his paintings explored the various forms found in daily life. 

Scott was one of the leading British artists of his generation. During his lifetime, his work was exhibited widely, both at home and abroad, and continues to be to this day. His paintings can be found in public collections around the world, including the Tate, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Musée National d’Art Moderne, Paris, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.

Stand-out works by Bridget Riley (b. 1931) are also showcased, including “Rose Rose 14” (2011), a jewel-like work in oil on linen dating from Bridget Riley’s return to one of her most important motifs: the vertical stripe. Riley is an icon of Modern British art who first became known in the 1960s for her singular Op Art paintings, and who now in her 80s, continues to thrill audiences the world over with her highly original works. Riley’s paintings explore optical phenomena to evoke compelling, vibrant sensations of movement, colour and three-dimensionality. 

Crowning the exhibition is “Camden Palace – Spring Morning II”, oil on board, 2000, by Frank Auerbach (b. 19xx). Auerbach painted his first view of north London in 1954 and this particular area of the capital would go on to occupy a central position in his oeuvre. This painting takes the iconic Camden Palace Theatre as its subject and combines a wonderfully vibrant and varied colour palette against a muted blue sky. The spontaneity implied in the quick, thick brushstrokes belies the strong sense of structure and pattern which underpins all of Auerbach’s painting, as well as his wonderful sense of depth and complex tonal range.

Tanya Baxter’s clients are major investors in blue chip art for whom art is an increasingly essential part of their investment portfolio. Her clients are all over the world, including the Middle East, the USA, Asia and Europe. Baxter has an unparalleled understanding of the art market and a proven track record of sourcing works by renowned artists such as Francis Bacon, Frank Auerbach, Lucian Freud, Tracey Emin and Andy Warhol.