Murals & Decorative Painting 1920-1960

This book is illustrated with a series of specially commissioned photographs that record some of the least known but most remarkable mural cycles in Great Britain. In the vast majority of cases these works have previously only been reproduced in black and white if at all. Today murals are rarely seen as the artist intended. Often they are partially obscured, especially where there has been a change of building use. Frequently works are completely covered up or painted over examples include murals by Mary Sargent Florence, Mary Adshead, Eric Ravilious, Dora Carrington, William Roberts and Gilbert Spencer. Where murals survive they are more often than not displaced works. Historic photographs showing John Piperís The Englishmanís Home at The Festival of Britain, in situ on the river side of the Homes and Gardens Pavilion on Belvedere Road, come as a revelation; a digital reconstruction of Frank Brangwynís Empire panels for The House of Lords, seen in situ as they were originally intended, gives a dramatically more favourable impression than their final installation in The Brangwyn Hall, Swansea.

Works Featured in this catalogue

Sold
Sir Thomas Monnington (1902 - 1976)
Study for The Fifth Station, The Cross is laid upon Simon of Cyrene, circa 1960
Mary Adshead (1904 - 1995)
Farmers ploughing, Study for The World’s Food mural, c. 1942
£1,100
Willi Soukop (1907 - 1995)
Physical Education, Reading & Discussion and Woodwork & Metalwork, early 1950s
£9,500
Francis Plummer (1930 - 2019)
Allegory with female nudes, circa 1953
£5,900
Private
Claude Francis Barry (1883 - 1970)
The Heart of the Empire: Our Finest Hour, 1940
Sold
John Armstrong (1893 - 1973)
Studies for Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton, Surrey, 1961
Sold
Evelyn Dunbar (1906 - 1960)
Autumn and the Poet, 1948-1960
Sold
Frank Brangwyn (1867 - 1956)
Parrot – Original Study for the Great Empire Panels
Sold
Dean Cornwell (1892 - 1960)
Functions of Combat; Service of Supply, circa 1945
John Armstrong (1893 - 1973)
Suggested Decoration for The Pleasures of Living mural, Shell Centre, circa 1961
£2,510
Private
Peter Lanyon (1918 - 1964)
Porthmeor Mural, 1962
Sold
Frank Brangwyn (1867 - 1956)
The Last Supper, St Joseph’s, Stokesley, 1946
Sir Thomas Monnington (1902 - 1976)
Design for the ceiling of the Mary Harris Memorial Chapel, (pale ground) University of Exeter, 1956
£9,500
Sold
John Armstrong (1893 - 1973)
Design for The Pleasure of Living Mural at Shell Centre, c.1961
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Study of Woman Playing Guitar, 1928
£975
Stanley Lewis (1905 - 2009)
Study for the Central Group of Allegory, c. 1929
Barbara Jones (1912 - 1978)
Out in the Hall, 1960
£44,000
Sold
Alan Sorrell (1904 - 1974)
Study for The Nelson Bar, HMS Campania, 1951
Reserved
Jean Clark (1902 - 1999)
Study for the Committee Room of the London Bankers Clearing House, 1958
Edward Bawden (1903 - 1989)
The English Pub, 1949 -1951
Alan Sorrell (1904 - 1974)
Mural I for the canteen of John D. Francis Ltd, Fazakerley, Liverpool, 1947
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Compositional study for The pleasures of Life at Morley College, 1928-30
£3,400
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Study for The Clock and The Dial, mural at Brockley County School (now Prendergast – Hilly Fields School) 1935
£2,500
Mary Adshead (1904 - 1995)
Lunette design for a school mural, 1930’s
£2,300
Sold
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
The original full size cartoon for The Garden, 1950
Frank Brangwyn (1867 - 1956)
The Printed Word Makes the People of the World One
Barbara Jones (1912 - 1978)
Study for Man at Work – a century of technical and social progress, 1961
£2,800
Sold
Frank Brangwyn (1867 - 1956)
Study for Man the Master 1930-1934
Sold
Mary Adshead (1904 - 1995)
Nursery Designs
Evelyn Dunbar (1906 - 1960)
Colour study for sub-gallery spandrels at Brockley County School for Boys [HMO 551]
£2,350
Sold
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
The Birthday Party, circa 1957
Private
Edward Halliday (1902 - 1984)
Hypnos, 1928
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Study for The Four Winds of Hilly Fields, ceiling design for Brockley County School, c. 1932-36
£1,650
Sold
Evelyn Dunbar (1906 - 1960)
The Woodcutter and the Bees, spring 1933 [HMO 309]
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Design for the wall above the altar at Campion Hall, Two Angels Overlooking a Garden
£9,500
Sold
John Cecil Stephenson (1889 - 1965)
Study for Fugue, 1953
Mary Adshead (1904 - 1995)
Garison Lane Nursery Training School, circa 1930
£1,400
Sold
Sir Thomas Monnington (1902 - 1976)
Design for Students Union, University of London, circa 1969
Sold
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Study for the altar wall, Annunciation in an Allotment, c.1942
Forthcoming
John Piper (1903 - 1992)
The Englishman’s Home, 1951
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
First design for the Thomas More Altar, Cheyne Row, London, mid 1930s
£2,950
Forthcoming
Alan Sorrell (1904 - 1974)
Mural IV for the canteen of John D. Francis Ltd, Fazakerley, Liverpool, 1947
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Study of a grumpy cherub, for Campion Hall, early 1940’s
£1,250
Sold
Frank Brangwyn (1867 - 1956)
Study for Mans Ultimate Destiny, c. 1932
John Armstrong (1893 - 1973)
Suggested Design for The Pleasure of Living, Shell Centre London Circa 1961
£2,150
Forthcoming
Alan Sorrell (1904 - 1974)
Mural III for the canteen of John D. Francis Ltd, Fazakerley, Liverpool, 1947
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Study for Fortune and the Boy at the Well, mural at Brockley County School, 1933
£16,000
Sold
Anne Newland (1913 - 1997)
The Legend of Ceres, c. 1938-39
Sold
Frank Brangwyn (1867 - 1956)
Working Photomontage for Man’s Ultimate Destiny, Rockefeller Center, 1933
Sold
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Study for the Morley College mural
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Study for Joy and Sorrow, mural at Brockley County School, 1933
£16,000
Victor Reinganum (1907 - 1995)
Three Muses, 1968
£3,000
Kenneth Rowntree (1915 - 1997)
The British Restaurant at Acton, Middlesex, 1942
£7,850
Private
Doris Zinkeisen (1898 - 1991)
Work Artists record of mural designed for the Arts and Crafts exhibition, Royal Academy, 1916
Charles Mahoney (1903 - 1968)
Study for The Birth of the Virgin, c. 1942
£15,000
Mary Adshead (1904 - 1995)
Scenes from the Life of Christ: Preaching the Gospel, mid-1920s
£6,750
Sold
Gilbert Spencer (1892 - 1979)
Hebridean Memory, 1951
Private
Barbara Jones (1912 - 1978)
Study for Man and his Senses, c. 1966-71