MODERN SCULPTURE COLLECTION

MICHAEL AYRTON
[1921-75]

SCULPTURE

MICHAEL AYRTON

Icarus Rising - var. III
1965
bronze
edition of 6
101 cm high
Provenance: Private collection, UK

MICHAEL AYRTON

Mirror Twins
1973
bronze & perspex
edition of 12
11/12
signed
42 cm high
Provenance: Private collection,UK

MICHAEL AYRTON

Mirrored Figure II
1973
bronze and perspex
edition of 12
1/12
signed
41 cm high

Provenance:
R S Johnson, Chicago, c. 1973;
Private collection, USA

Studies for sculpture

Laocoon Maze Figure 111 [study]
1972, ink and pencil
signed, 34 x 49 cm
Provenance: Terence Doherty
Literature:
'Michael Ayrton',CannonBrookes Birmingham, 1978, p. 129, pl. 235

Laocoon Maze Figure Vlll
1972, crayon, signed, 35 x 50 cm

MICHAEL AYRTON

Laocoon Maze Figure ll
1972
bronze
edition of 9
24 cm high
Provenance: Christies; PC, UK

MICHAEL AYRTON

Personal Janus
1970
bronze
1/9
37 cm high
Provenance: The artist;
Arnold Haskell collection
[Self-portrait and Minotaur]

MICHAEL AYRTON

Double Figure in Balance
1956
bronze
edition of 6
142 cm high [excluding base]
Provenance: Christies auction
13 December 1999. lot 92;
Andrew Burt collection

MICHAEL AYRTON

Advancing Figure
1967
bronze
2/6
60 cm long
Provenance: Vincent Price Gallery
Private collection, USA

MICHAEL AYRTON

Point of Departure
1970
bronze
edition of 9 - 4/9
signed
41 cm high
Provenance: Mallams auction
13 June 2015, lot 627;
Andrew Burt collection

MICHAEL AYRTON

Emerging Heads
1970
bronze
1/9
signed
35 cm high
Provenance: Roy Davids coll'n.;
Bonhams, 4 March 2015, lot 214

MICHAEL AYRTON

Discovery of Nautilus
1969
bronze & perspex
edition of 9
4/9
57 cm long
Provenance: Peter Holland coll'n.

studies for sculpture

Discovery of Nautilus study, 1970
ink and wash, signed, 39 x 48 cm
Provenance: Andrew Burt coll'n.
Exhibited: Bruton Gallery, 1971, no. 51; Maze & Minotaur, 1973, 66
Literature: 'Michael Ayrton..'
P Cannon-Brookes, Birmingham,
p. 119, pl. 214; Nyenhuis, p. 281

Study for Sculpture, 1974
ink & wash, signed, 39 x 48 cm
Provenance: Andrew Burt coll'n.

Translucent Heads, 1970
ink & wash, signed, 40 x 48 cm
Provenance: Christies, 14.10.2004
Andrew Burt collection
Literature: Nyenhuis 710

MICHAEL AYRTON

Pythia
1963
bronze
edition of 9
31 cm high [excluding base]
Provenance: Artist's family, 1996 Andrew Burt collection

MICHAEL AYRTON

Reflective Heads ll
1971
bronze
3/9
signed
41 cm high
Provenance: Artist's family;
Private collection, UK
Literature: Cannon-Brookes p. 215
Nyenhuis, no. 743

MICHAEL AYRTON

Arkville Maze
[maquette]
fibreglass and bronze
edition of 3
68 x 92 cm
Provenance: Artist's family
Final maquette for the Arkville Maze in the USA - including bronze Minotaur and Daedalus/Icarus Matrix

MICHAEL AYRTON

Web
1972
bronze, steel and string
edition of 9 - 1/9
174 cm high
Provenance: Private coll., USA

study for sculpture

Study for Web / Cage Mirror Maze
1967
ink and wash
signed
49 x 39 cm
Provenance: Andrew Burt coll'n.

MICHAEL AYRTON

Daedalus at Cumae
1961
bronze
edition of 6
52.5 cm high
Provenance: The artist [1963];
Joe Perelstein, NY, collection

PAINTINGS and DRAWINGS

The Neo-Romantic Series - 1939-46

MICHAEL AYRTON - Gethsemane, 1944
oil on board, signed and dated, 52 x 65 cm
Provenance: Redfern Gallery, one-man exhibition, 1945
John Lehmann collection; Agnews; Sothebys, 25 May 1985, lot 185;
Christies, 21 March 2018, lot 149; Andrew Burt collection
Literature: 'Michael Ayrton', J Laver, Grey Walls Press, 1948, pl. 16

MICHAEL AYRTON - Temptation of St Anthony ll, 1942
gouache, signed, 40 x 50 cm
Provenance: Redfern Gallery, one-man exhibition, July 1943;
B Stross, MP; C Hoare collections

MICHAEL AYRTON - The Satyr Disturbed [Self Portrait], 1942
oil on board, signed, 25 x 35 cm
Provenance: Sworders, 2012

MICHAEL AYRTON - Le Mafraye, 1943
oil on canvas, signed, 52 x 62 cm
Provenance: The Artist; Private collection, UK
Literature: 'Michael Ayrton', J Laver, Grey Walls Press, 1948 [illust.]
'Michael Ayrton..', P Cannon-Brookes, Birm, 1978, pl. 27]
[aka Mrs Chittenden - the house keeper of a friend of Ayrton's
who thought she was a witch]

MICHAEL AYRTON

Dark Trinity l
1942
gouache
signed
44 x 34 cm
Provenance: Christies auction, 11 March 2004, lot 227
Andrew Burt collection
Exhibited: one-man exhibitions:
R S Johnson, USA, 1984, pl. 1
Austin/Desmond FA, 1990, pl. 1

MICHAEL AYRTON

Girl Kneeling
1942
oil on board
signed
36 x 26 cm
Provenance: Sworders, 2012

MICHAEL AYRTON

St Anthony's Shadow
1945
watercolour and ink
signed
31 x 23 cm
Provenance: Albemarle Gallery,'91
Andrew Burt collection [1st one]
Literature: Cannon-Brookes

MICHAEL AYRTON

The Matriarch
1946
oil on board
signed

Provenance: Boundary Gallery
Literature: 'Michael Ayrton'
J Laver, Grey Walls Press, 1948

MICHAEL AYRTON

Dark Trinity
1943
gouache
signed
46 x 36 cm
Provenance: Sothebys auction
24 June 1985, lot 478

MICHAEL AYRTON

Eternal Triangle
1940
gouache and ink
signed and dated
34 x 25 cm
Provenance:
Magda Paton-Freeman collection
[ex-BBC - on Nazi death list for responding to Lord Haw Haw]
Andrew Burt collection
Exhibited: Agnews, one-man 1984, p. 9, cat. no. 24
[Self portrait + Joan Foa +
Fay Pomerance]

MICHAEL AYRTON - Icarus, 1940
watercolour & ink, 39 x 55 cm
Provenance: Leicester Galleries, 1940
Sothebys auction, 10 December 2013, lot 327
Literature: 'Michael Ayrton..', J Nyenhuis, Wayne State, no. 1
[Ayrton's first Greek Mythology painting]

Later Paintings - 1947-67

MICHAEL AYRTON

The House, Ischia
1947
oil on board
signed and dated
31 x 25 cm
Literature: Cannon-Brookes p.28;
'Michael Ayrton..', J Hopkins 2021

MICHAEL AYRTON

Whistler in the Field
1953
oil on canvas
signed and dated
38 x 46 cm
Provenance: Bruton Gallery, 2017

MICHAEL AYRTON

Icarus Sunstruck
1959-60
oil on board
signed and dated
183 x 122 cm
Provenance: Christies auction
17 November 2011, lot 156
Exhibited: 'Michael Ayrton'
one-man exhibition, 1991
Austin Desmond Fine Art, no. 19

MICHAEL AYRTON

Night Thought
1960
oil, collage & ink on board
signed
35 x 50 cm
Provenance: Christies auction
26 May 1995, lot 29

MICHAEL AYRTON

Icarus - Head at High Velocity
1960
oil on board
signed
40 x 50 cm
Provenance: Bruton Gallery

Study for painting:

Icarus - Head at High Velocity
1960
ink and wash
signed

Icarus - Modified Head 1
1960
oil on board
39 x 52 cm

Provenance: Matthiesen Gallery;
Heidi Hruska collection

MICHAEL AYRTON

Birth of Phanes
1959
oil and collage on board
32 x 50 cm
Provenance: Andrew Burt coll'n.
Exhibited: one-man exhibition, Birmingham City Museum, 1977

MICHAEL AYRTON - Cycladic Shore at Dusk, 1961
oil on canvas, signed and dated, 40 x 60 cm
Provenance: Matthiesen Gallery, one-man exhib., 1961

MICHAEL AYRTON - Minoan Landscape, 1961
oil on canvas, signed, 63 x 76 cm
Provenance: Matthiesen Gallery, one-man exhib., 1961, no. 27 [illust.]
Dumouchelles auction, USA, 12 November 2004, lot 2016

MICHAEL AYRTON

Maze Maker ll - Copper Seam
1966
acrylic & collage on canvas
signed and dated
152 x 102 cm
Provenance: Ayrton family
Literature: Cannon-Brookes, 152
'Maze Maker', paperback cover

MICHAEL AYRTON

Daedalus Head
1966
acrylic on canvas
signed
30 x 40 cm

MICHAEL AYRTON

Bird and Hand
1967
acrylic and collage on board
40 x 50 cm
Provenance: Artist's family;
Private collection, UK

MICHAEL AYRTON - Phoenix, 1967
acrylic and collage on board, signed
Provenance: Magda Paton-Freeman collection

MICHAEL AYRTON

Journey Through the Head
1970
metallic paint and collage
signed and dated
76 x 53 cm

Provenance: the artist;
R S Johnson International, Chicago.

Literature: 'Michael Ayrton..', Prof. J Nyenhuis, 2003, Wayne State University Press, p. 175, plate 197.
Exhibited: 'Homage to Michael Ayrton', R S Johnson, Chicago, 1984
catalogue, p. 23, plate 14

DRAWINGS

MICHAEL AYRTON

Self Portrait with Mirror
1966
ink and wash
50 x 35 cm
Literature: 'Michael Ayrton..'
Justine Hopkins, 2021, p. 1

MICHAEL AYRTON

Minotaur Surprised
1975
ink and wash
49 x 40 cm
Provenance: The artist's family;
Andrew Burt collection
Literature: Nyenhuis, 809

MICHAEL AYRTON

Minotaur Enraged
1964
ink
signed and dated
34 x 22 cm
Provenance: Grosvenor Gall., 1964
Bruton Gallery, 2000;
Andrew Burt collection

MICHAEL AYRTON

Minotaur Enraged
1963
ink
signed
69 x 44 cm

Provenance: The artist;
Private collection, UK;
Lyon & Turnbull, 20.4.2011, lot 172
Exhibited: 'Homage to Michael Ayrton', 1984, R S Johnson, Chicago, cat. p. 14, plate 3.
Literature: '.Michael Ayrton..'
P Cannon-Brookes, 1978, pl. 163

MICHAEL AYRTON

Looking Glass
1974
ink & wash
signed
40 x 50 cm
Provenance: Bruton Gallery
one-man exhib., 1981, no. 158
Robert Devereaux collection
Sothebys, 4 Nov. 2010, lot 343

MICHAEL AYRTON

Unfortunate Traveller
[book illustration]
ink

MICHAEL AYRTON

English Myths
[book illustration]
ink

Michael Ayrton became quite famous at a young age as one of the 'Neo-Romantic' group of artists which included Graham Sutherland, Keith Vaughan, John Minton, John Craxton, Leslie Hurry and Cecil Collins.
He exhibited at all of the top UK galleries in the 1940s including one-man shows at the Leicester, Redfern, Hanover, Lefevre and Roland Browse & Delbanco galleries.
He was popular with art historians, critics, dealers and collectors.... then in 1954 he started to produce sculpture and everything changed, he was still popular with many collectors but everyone else turned on him, as in those days you weren't allowed to be a painter and a sculptor.
He was the first artist I collected as I was attracted by the Greek mythology themes and after 40 years I have never tired of his work - so inventive and original.
There are several books on his work and the Tate Gallery have a good collection of his paintings and sculpture.

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