Lowell Libson & Jonny Yarker Ltd presents four remarkable mid-19th century collages, a group of extraordinary and almost hallucinatory works by John Bingley Garland (1791-1875), a successful merchant, pioneer Canadian politician, public servant and mysterious ‘outsider’ artist. He developed a technique of combining cut-outs from architectural and old master prints with natural history engravings, passages of scripture, découpage papers and ink crosses of various forms into bold and bi- zarre images, which he then elaborately and copiously decorated with drips of ‘blood’ in red ink. It is the addition of the blood which transforms these eclectic collages from the Victorian common place to proto-surrealist works of extraordinary power.

Guy Peppiatt Fine Art will show an unfinished sketch of The Matterhorn from the north-east, Switzerland by John Ruskin (1819- 1900); Ruskin inscribed the sketch ‘State of snow on Matterhorn in 1849’ which makes it one of the first detailed studies of the summit of the Matterhorn, a mountain that was not successfully climbed until 1865, and also shows Ruskin’s early interest in what we would now call ‘climate change’.

HIGHLIGHTS – SCULPTURE & WORKS OF ART
Desmet Gallery offers a magnificent and monumental (150 cm diameter) work by Giovanni Della Robbia (1469-1529/30), a frame in the form of a garland of fruit, vegetables and flowers, in polychromatic glazed terracotta dating to c1520-1525. Showcasing his Milan gallery at London Art Week for the first time, Walter Padovani, also an associate of Trinity Fine Art in London, has a rare, signed and beautiful terracotta with an interesting provenance by Canova’s neoclassical heir, Rinaldo Rinaldi (1793-1873). The sculpture depicts Peace and Justice Embracing, with a base showing the royal coat of arms. The work was formerly in the collection of Harewood House, home to the Earls of Harewood.

First-time exhibitor Enrico Ceci Cornici Antiche, frame specialists, offers an exquisite Sienese style Renaissance frame with unique gilding and tempera decoration. The outer edge is painted with recurring ivory and gilded leaves motifs. The inner section is decorated with relief-carved cartouches in Sansovino style, with a golden lion figure on a lapis lazuli-pigmented background, the whole dating no later than the mid-16th century. Benappi Fine Art has an unusual Orientalist style Bust of a Moor by Davide Calandra (1856-1915), one of the most prominent Italian sculptors of the late 19th and early 20th Century. The Moor was created during an early phase in Calandra’s career characterised by the execution of a number of busts focussed on a range of historical and mythical human figures. He pro- duced these in a range of mediums and presented them at The Italian Exhibition in London in 1888.

Joining London Art Week for the first time, Mireille Mosler, the New York-based gallerist in Old and Modern Masters, says: “I am really in favor of supporting an old master platform and see this as perhaps the only digital strategy in our field.” She adds, “ With the cancellation of all fairs this year, I want to support LAW DIGITAL, and our old master community, as we find new ways forward in the online world to connect with our international audiences.”

London Art Week Summer 2020 is grateful to sponsors Hunters Solicitors and Tectus Insurance Brokers for their support. Further news and developments for London Art Week Summer 2020 will be announced soon. Join the London Art Week community: register at www.londonartweek.co.uk to receive communications about Summer 2020.