A very special portrait, affordable mid century art plus art fairs

A very special portrait from 1942

Well it can never be said we over-email out, I just realised our last musings were back at the end of November! So, let’s begin 2022 by sharing a quite amazing war-era portrait. 

Thelma Bader was the wife of the famous Wing-Commander Douglas Bader, D.S.O., D.F.C. portrayed by Kenneth More in the famous 1956 film, Reach for the Sky. Painted in 1942 by David Jagger, one of the greats of twentieth century portraiture, it was to be used as the front cover of the May 1942 edition of Woman’s Journal magazine (which we've tracked down!). This amazing portrait was designed to depict (and thus encourage) the fortitude of the women back on the home front, for her husband had only been captured and made a prisoner of war some short months prior. A truly very special portrait by a great artist with a wonderful historical story to tell. 

Affordable mid-century art

Secondly, we’re increasingly finding real pleasure in acquiring works for our online Mid Century Modern Alternatives selection. These are works we come across on our travels (actual and digital) that we feel have real merit, largely from the mid-era of the twentieth century, but may not be by an artist we would be able to build a body of work by or even, at times, by an unknown artist. We’re effectively looking to enable clients to acquire good curated works of art from the last century at affordable prices. If truth be know this is a great extension to our obsessive collecting passion; any true obsessive collectors out there will know it’s always about “the hunt” and this allows us to hunt even more than we do already (which is constantly). We add works to this offering regularly, so it's always worth taking a look online. 

Art fair plans

Talking about mid century art brings us to the subject of art fairs. The London Art Fair, always our look forward to event at the start of every year, has been postponed until April; it’s always a great fair so we’re really looking forward to getting back there for the first time in over two years; we'll be showcasing new works by the likes of Joan Eardley and Shani Rhys James, both of which you can see already in Latest Works.

In addition, we’re going to be exhibiting at a small number of provincial decorative art fairs during this year, including Buxton and The Cotswolds. We think this will be a great opportunity to show a curated selection of the ever-acquired Mid Century Modern Alternatives selected works alongside some of our more recognised artists; we’ll let people know as and when these events occur, with the usual offer of complimentary tickets for those who ask first.

All for now, here’s to an ever-improving 2022.

Steve and Christine