16th Feb, 2022 10:00
Out of the Ordinary - Two-Day Sale
440
▲ PETER SAMUELSON (1912-1996)
PETER SAMUELSON (1912-1996)
A four-fold double-sided wooden screen with applied card panels, hand-decorated with various erotic scenes
signed and dated 'Peter '94' (mirrored), mixed media
each panel 137 x 39cm
overall 137 x 158cm
Peter Samuelson appears in this screen as an old dog, holding a paintbrush and standing next to his signature. The signature is in 'mirror-writing', a trademark of Samuelson's, who liked to confuse potential collectors with his unusual method of signing. Samuelson is not the only autobiographical element in the screen, his daughter dances with her husband on the first panel and their pet cat is chased by birds. Even the buyer's spaniel 'Rosie' is present, transformed into a half-dog and half-human sultry nude, and the local farmer is shown in the banner at the top. The screen has a fantastical and bizarre quality that reflects Samuelson's approach to art, as he actively tried to stay separate from the art world and avoided dealers, yet his playful and often erotic works captured the attention of friends and admirers.
Samuelson was educated at Eton, but aged fifteen he asked to leave school. Instead, he spent several seasons with the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo, sketching the dancers and improving his ability to capture movement, Samuelson wrote that ‘movement in the fingers comes from my own feeling for dance’. He then trained at the New York School of Fine Art in Paris, before moving to Holland to work as an illustrator for the Dutch Radio Times. Included in the following lots are several of his drawings from a series called 'Musical Fantasies', in his own words they are ‘always done under the immediate influence from the radio at speed, almost unconsciously, they are unashamed in their iconoclasm, with surrealistic elements unchecked.’ In 2006, Samuelson’s work was exhibited at the Brewhouse Gallery, Eton College.
.
Take advantage of our Sworders Delivery Service. Please see 'Shipping estimate' below.
Sold for £550
Condition Report
Three of the panels have been dented, some of the tape around the edges is a little tatty, the panels were originally fixed with staples. Some dirt and wear in line with handling. Please contact the department for additional images.
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: Out of the Ordinary - Two-Day Sale, 16th Feb, 2022
Viewing
VIEWING BY APPOINTMENT
We will be offering viewing by appointment only, to be held at our Stansted Auction Rooms, Cambridge Road, Stansted Mountfitchet CM24 8GE.. Thirty minute time slots will be available from:
Fri 11 Feb, 9am - 5pm
Sat 12 Feb, 10am - 2pm
Sun 13 Feb, 10am - 2pm
Mon 14 Feb, 9am - 5pm
All lots are, however, extensively illustrated and carry detailed condition reports - see 'Condition report' at the foot of each lot description.
Please note that this item is not suitable for a pre-sale automated shipping estimate due to the items weight/size.
The below table shows indicative shipping costs for larger items being delivered within the UK mainland. Please note that all the below costs are purely for indicative purposes and are to be used as a guideline only. If you purchase multiple large items, we will combine deliveries to reduce the shipping costs.
Should you be successful in buying this item, a specific shipping estimate will need to be requested after the sale using the link in your invoice email; this also includes all requests for international delivery.
If you would like further information about shipping and collection please see here.
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.
