THE COLLECTION OF SIR NICHOLAS GOODISON

BRITISH ART: INNOVATION AND CRAFTSMANSHIP

The sizeable British art collection of Sir Nicholas Goodison, who died last year aged 87, was auctioned at Christie’s London on Wednesday May 25. The sale total was a healthy £7,996,212.

Goodison was, of course, a towering figure in both the City and the Arts, a great collector, and an expert in 18th-century decorative arts. He was for many years Chairman of the Courtauld Institute and the National Art Collections Fund (now the Arts Fund), as well as the London Stock Exchange.

Keith Vaughan
Sixth Assembly of Figures, 1962. Oil on canvas.

There were no fewer than 246 lots on sale, including numerous Modern British works, by the likes of Eileen Agar, Frank Brangwyn, Lynn Chadwick, Prunella Clough, John Craxton, Frank Dobson, Barbara Hepworth, Patrick Heron, Roger Hilton, Ivon Hitchens, Peter Lanyon, Paul Nash, John Piper, Walter Sickert, Stanley Spencer, Graham Sutherland, William Turnbull, Keith Vaughan and Glynn Williams.

Mid-century semi-abstracts attracted particularly enthusiastic bidding, with Keith Vaughan’s Sixth Assembly of Figures going for £560,000 [estimated £100-150k], and his Crowd Assembling achieving £350,000 [est. £40-60k]. Peter Lanyon’s works, too, were popular, with Tree Top Nest attracting £450,000 [est. £100-150k] and Two Close fetching £320,000 [est.£180-250k]. (Figures signify hammer prices). 

As you might imagine, with such a large number of lots, the auction was a lengthy affair. Four auctioneers took bids over six hours: Nick Orchard, Sarah Reynolds, Clementine Sinclair and, to wrap up the affair, the unflappable James Hastie.