IFPDA Fine Art Print Fair Online Autumn 2021

We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.

From Little Gidding by T. S. Eliot


We are delighted to make this presentation of five wonderful artists who have each explored and recorded their observations of the city of London: Bill Jacklin, Oskar Kokoschka, Leon Kossoff, Celia Paul and John Virtue. 

Through this magnificent collection of monotypes, etchings, and lithographs, we see through the artists’ eye towards some of the famous monuments and landmarks of London, such as: The British Museum; Piccadilly Circus; and St. Paul’s Cathedral. As well as scenes of common familiarity, such as the morning commute; and the docks.

The works span 1967 – 2008, but it is through the lens of the last few years, 2020-21, with the unprecedented lockdowns that Covid-19 has caused, that we see these works in a new light.  Due to the enforced confinement that most of us have endured, we have become more familiar with where we live and our immediate environment, in a way we never imagined possible. For most of us, this is a positive to come out of it all.

To me, this is the gift an artist has all the time – constantly exploring and seeing things in new ways. We are extremely lucky to have artists who share their unique observations though their talent of making the pictures and luckier still if we can collect and live with these works as mementos for the creative potential of every day and every circumstance.

I hope you enjoy this selection of works as much as we do and look forward to hearing from you if you have any questions or would like to discuss any of these works in more detail.

Joe Balfour

Head of Marlborough Graphics.