Linoleum cuts it in the art world as old prints go under the hammer

THEY might be the world's most expensive rolls of lino.
A member of staff walks past screenprints entitled Some Poems of Jules Laforgue by Patrick Caulfield during a photo call for Bonhams Prints and Multiples, in New Bond Street, LondonA member of staff walks past screenprints entitled Some Poems of Jules Laforgue by Patrick Caulfield during a photo call for Bonhams Prints and Multiples, in New Bond Street, London
A member of staff walks past screenprints entitled Some Poems of Jules Laforgue by Patrick Caulfield during a photo call for Bonhams Prints and Multiples, in New Bond Street, London

Rare prints produced in the first half of the 20th century using what was then the innovative technique of linocut, are among those going under the auctioneer’s hammer on Monday, with asking prices of up to £150,000.

The process involved making prints by cutting designs into sheets of linoleum, sometimes mounted on a wooden block, with a sharp knife.

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Among the rarest examples of the technique is Sunshine Roof, a 1934 work by the London printmaker, Cyril Power.

It depicts the Green Line bus from London to Hertford, driven by the artist’s son, and with its swirling horizontal strokes, looks more like a rollercoaster than a charabanc.

Power uses a similar technique for his 1932 work, Tube Station. Along with five more of his pictures, it is expected to fetch up to £35,000.

Tro Santafe, director of prints and multiples at auctioneer Bonhams, said: ‘The series of seven prints by Cyril Power maintain a remarkable quality of impression that allow them to endure as lasting and vital images of their era – prints of this quality rarely come to auction.”

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The London sale will also offer work by other prominent printmakers, including Marc Chagall, Andy Warhol and Albrecht Dürer.

Chagall’s Cirque Portfolio, estimated at up to £150,000, contains 38 lithographs that celebrate his fascination with the circus and its performers.

Picasso’s Femme Endormie (Sleeping Woman), a linocut from 1962 , is expected to fetch up to £20,000.

A more recent print, Nola, produced in 2008 by the artist Banksy, is estimated at £60,000.

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Created in response to the hurricanes that devastated New Orleans, the screenprint shows a little girl sheltering under an umbrella, and is considered of the most sought-after Banksy prints. It was originally a stencil that appeared as graffiti on walls in the city and was later released as a series of prints.

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