4th Oct, 2022 10:00
Modern and Contemporary Art
211
▲ Joanna Carrington aka Reginald Pepper (1931-2003)
Joanna Carrington aka Reginald Pepper (1931-2003)
Rabbits
signed with initials 'RP.' l.r., oil on board
46 x 46cm
Joanna had an excellent start to her creative future; her father was the publisher and designer Noel Carrington and her aunt the artist Dora Carrington. As a teenager, Cedric Morris was impressed by her artistic skills when she studied under him at as his summer school. She was also tutored by Fernand Léger in Paris and Mervyn Peake and Keith Vaughan at the Central School of Art and Design in London. As her career progressed, the influence of these artists can be seen, including in her cubist still lifes and her landscapes, which express her love for the countryside. Her first solo exhibition was at the Establishment Gallery in 1962 and she had subsequent shows at Crane Kalman, Grosvenor and Thackeray galleries.
In 1966, she married her second husband, the artist and film director Christopher Mason. A few years later, after Mason made a film on the naive artist Alfred Wallis, Carrington adopted the pseudonym Reginald Pepper. Pepper was said to be an ‘unemployable forty-year-old’ who lived with his overbearing mother in a backstreet of Swindon, filled with kitsch carpets and wallpapers and their two giant cats.
Pepper’s paintings are in a primitive style, where perspective is absent. They tend to be fun and uplifting works, with a childlike nature which was seen to be reflective of Reg’s lower mental capacity. In 1974, Carrington showed some works to the Portal Gallery in London and presented herself as his agent.
Pepper’s true identity was revealed by the Sunday Times in 1981. But this did not adversely affect the public interest in him and, in 1984, Carrington was commissioned to illustrate a children's book ‘Pepper and Jam’. If authors could write books under pseudonyms, Carrington felt she should be able to enjoy the freedom of producing two very different styles of art. Reginald Pepper has gained a cult following and collectors of her work will often hang a ‘Carrington’ and ‘Pepper’ side by side.
For the last twenty or so years of her life, Joanna Carrington and Christopher Mason lived in France. The present vendors of 'The Horse' and 'Rabbits' had a holiday home close by and became friends with the couple, being gifted artworks.
Take advantage of our Sworders Delivery Service. Please see 'Shipping estimate' below.
A selection of Modern British Art and Prints, featured in our 4 October Modern and Contemporary Art sale
Sold for £950
Condition Report
Framed size 53 x 53cm
Some dust and light dirt but no obvious condition issues.
IN PERSON
To bid in person at auction for the first time please register for a bidding paddle in advance by filling out and submitting a registration form at our front desk. When registering in person we require photo ID, such as a passport or driving licence.
ABSENTEE BIDDING
If you cannot attend the auction in person we can bid on your behalf. You can leave an absentee bid on our website.
The amount you bid should be your maximum bid. We will bid up to that limit for you, and remember you may end up paying less than your limit, depending on other bidding on the day.
You can leave an absentee bid up to half an hour before the start of any sale. Please note when we receive two or more absentee bids for the same amount, the first bid received will be the one taken.
LEAVE COMMISSION BIDS ONLINE
If you would like to leave a commission bid on our website you can do so up until 30 minutes before the sale starts. Leaving a commission bid through sworder.co.uk is free for all registered clients. Thereafter you may register bank card details under your account in order to bid live. Click here to register an account.
BID LIVE ON sworder.co.uk
You can bid live at our auctions from the comfort of your home or office using bidding platform Sworders Live. It is easy to register and you can watch the auction live as it happens. A 'Bid Live' button will appear on the auction on our website homepage when a sale is live; simply click the button to sign in or register with your card details. There is no additional charge for this service.
For further instructions on registering to bid live, please click here.
TELEPHONE BIDDING
If you would like to bid by telephone please contact our team prior to the auction with your details of the lots you are interested in and your full name, address, telephone number(s) and email address. Once our team have entered your bid request you will receive an email confirmation. We will contact you during the sale and one of our team will bid live with you over the phone.
Please note that we normally offer this service for lots with an estimate of £500 or higher and all telephone bid requests must be received by close of business the day before the auction.
Auction: Modern and Contemporary Art, 4th Oct, 2022
Viewing
VIEWING
Viewing will be held at our Stansted Auction Rooms, Cambridge Road, Stansted Mountfitchet CM24 8GE, as follows:
Sun 2 October, 10am - 1pm
Mon 3 October, 10am - 5pm
All lots are, however, extensively illustrated and carry detailed condition reports - see 'Condition report' at the foot of each lot description.
Please select the shipping destination;
Buying a pre-loved, antique, or vintage item not only provides you with unique style and value for money but it also helps to reduce landfill, and the annual emissions of an antique or vintage piece can be as little as one sixteenth of those of its new equivalent!
Sworders is proud to be supporting the work of Antiques are Green - the movement that was founded in 2009 to promote “a greener future created from the past”. Read their fascinating carbon footprint study of a Georgian chest of drawers versus a modern equivalent here
Request A Valuation
Here at Sworders, we are happy to offer a free online valuation service. Please fill out the form and press the 'Submit' button below.
To help us with your valuation please attach clear photographs of the item where possible. You can submit up to 5.
Approximate dimensions are also useful. Expect to hear from the appropriate valuer as soon as possible.
