10th Mar, 2026 10:00
Paint. Print. Sculpt.
28
▲ Karel Lek (British, 1929-2020)
A group of theatre set designs
six designs on five sheets, mixed media on paper and board, one with a charcoal and pen and ink study of figures verso, contained in a portfolio with printed label 'Mr. Karel Lek, RCA Tudor Rose Antiques 31 & 32 Castle Street Beaumaris Anglesey Gwynedd'
(5)
55.5 x 50cm and similar; unframed
Notes:Karel Lek was born in Antwerp in 1929. In 1940, aged eleven, he and his family fled to the UK after the Nazi invasion of Belgium. His father, Hendrik, held dual Belgian–British citizenship because Karel’s great-grandfather had spent six years working in London cutting diamonds for Queen Victoria’s crown.
After a brief period of internment, the family was relocated to Bangor, North Wales. Henrik was a diamond cutter and polisher and the UK diamond cutting industry had been relocated there to avoid German shelling. Karel attended Friars Grammar School and later the Liverpool College of Art. He then moved to London’s East End to teach, living at Toynbee Hall, where he met Phyllis Pinness. They married in 1957 and soon settled in Beaumaris on the Isle of Anglesey, opening an antiques shop opposite one run by his father, and lived there for the rest of their lives.
He became a member of the North Wales Group of Artists which included Sir Kyffin Williams, Elis Gwyn, Tom Gerrard, Roy Ostle, Jonah Jones, Arthur Pritchard, Claudia Williams, Donald McIntyre, Helen Steinthal and Peter Chadwick; and was also connected with the circle of Jewish refugee artists that included Josef Herman and Heinz Koppel.
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Sold for £240
Condition Report
One of the set designs is double sided. Foxing, staining and discolouration with dirty marks and smudges, please refer to illustrations. Some of the designs have been executed on paper which has been stuck down. Boards are somewhat bent. The design of a kitchen is stuck down with some creasing and rippling.
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Auction: Paint. Print. Sculpt., 10th Mar, 2026
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