Jessica Dismorr (British, 1885-1939) Luxembourg Gardens 23.3 x 29 cm. (9 1/8 x 11 3/8 in.) (Exec...

Jessica Dismorr (British, 1885-1939) Luxembourg Gardens signed 'J. DISMORR.' (lower left) pencil and watercolour 23.3 x 29 cm. (9 1/8 x 11 3/8 in.) Executed circa 1910 Footnotes: Provenance With Andrew Leslie Gallery, London, early 1980s, where acquired by the present owner Quentin Stevenson An early work painted circa 1910, at the start of Dismorr's time at the Académie de la Palette, Luxembourg Gardens shows an already advanced sense of angle and depth. In the years after this work, Dismorr would be exposed to a breadth of Modernist art at La Palette, from Impressionism through to the contemporary developments of Cubism and Fauvism, and this would have a major effect on her own work, an example of which can be seen in The Spring Dance (Lot 2). As auctioneers we are privileged to have a window into people's lives and the collections they have formed over a lifetime with tremendous care and passion in equal measure. This could not be truer than in the case of Quentin Stevenson whose commitment to Jessica Dismorr (and other female artists) has been both staunch and concentrated, underpinned by a deep academic understanding. During the early 1970s, Quentin did much to raise the profile of the artist through a number of exhibitions, including Jessica Dismorr and her Circle at the Archer Gallery in 1972 and Jessica Dismorr 1885 – 1939, Oils, Watercolours and Drawings at the Mercury Gallery in 1974. More recently he lent his expertise to The Fine Art Society's Jessica Dismorr and Catherine Giles exhibition in 2000 all of which paved the way for the celebrated Jessica Dismorr and her Contemporaries exhibition at Pallant House Gallery in 2019. This show brought the artist's work to life for a new generation and included works by other female names, some of whom have struggled to receive the recognition their work deserves and examples of which, amongst numerous others, can be found in this auction. Despite her relatively short life, Jessica Dismorr was involved with many of the significant artistic and creative movements of the early 20th Century. Having studied at the Slade School of Fine Art from 1902-03, she travelled to France where she studied with Max Bohm and following this at the Académie de la Palette with its reputation for encouraging talented women. It was here that she met the Scottish Colourist, J.D. Fergusson, whose influence can be seen clearly in Luxembourg Gardens of circa 1910 (lot 1) and which led to her quite unique work The Spring Dance (1912, lot 2) with its Post-Impressionist influence at a time when she was a member of the ground breaking Rhythm group. Following this Dismorr became one of only two female members of the Wyndham-Lewis led Vorticist Group, the other being her friend Helen Saunders, having signed the manifesto published in the first issue of Blast in 1914. Both artists appear in the William Roberts painting, The Vorticists at the Restaurant de la Tour Eiffel: Spring 1915 (Tate Gallery). Executed circa 1913 Woman in Evening Dress (lot 3) stands as a precursor to Vorticism but through its striking modernism hints at the impending movement. Despite the turbulence in her life, Jessica Dismorr associated strongly with many gifted women, forging important connections that stood the test of time. She was lifelong friends with the artist Bertha Jones (see lot 4), living above her at 4 Cannon Place in Hampstead for several years. A keen observer of her surroundings, one interpretation of this area of London can be seen in Hampstead Alley No.1 (1924, lot 9). Dismorr often travelled with painter friends including Catherine Giles, Helen Saunders, Kitty Clausen, a French friend, Suzanne Hirsch, and possibly Giles' cousin, Gertrude Leese and this collection offers examples from both Italy and France. Several of these works were exhibited at Dismorr's only solo exhibition, which took place at the Mayor Gallery in 1925 and provided an endorsement of her position in the avant-garde. It also led to her election in 1926 to the London Group, having been proposed by Charles Ginner and Frank Dobson, and the Seven and Five Society. There is a tremendous breadth of style and influence within Jessica Dismorr's work and this collection provides an outstanding survey. Her work had hung alongside that of Marjorie Watson Williams with The London Group, an artist who took a similar route from figuration to abstraction and would latterly be known as Paule Vézelay (see lot 44) following her move to France. Three Tempos (1938, lot 10) is the largest and most likely earliest example of a group of three abstracts created by Dismorr in the late 1930s. With the exception of two works and as can be seen here, all of the surviving abstracts are in shades of putty and grey, and occasionally beige. Some of these works suggest the influence of Jean Arp along with an interest in the shapes of vessels and dress making. Indeed, the use of vessels as can be seen in Vases, Jugs, Curtains (Still Life with Pots and Vases) (1935, lot 13), was in part owing to her friend Rachel Levy who had returned from an archaeological expedition in Mesopotamia with drawings of excavated pottery and who was also the owner of The Basket of Fruit (lot 14) at one point, which is a beautifully orchestrated example of her 'decorative subjects'. Amongst the startling variety, it is perhaps the figurative work which proves the most striking and intriguing. In Two Women and a Dog (circa 1932, lot 11) we see two similarly modern women, likely to be her friend Faye Asher and her lifelong companion Nesta Rhys-Davids. The couple pose side by side to a backdrop of twisting tree trunks, one dressed in shirt and tie, along with their dog. Another richly composed composition can be found in Souvenir of Eastbourne (circa 1929, lot 15), whereby an intimate family gathering is set amidst and in contrast to a busy day at the seaside with sailing boats, young lovers and frolicking bathers. Dismorr often used distortions of scale to generate a psychological impact and she spoke of how her oversized heads 'have a sort of vitality that sometimes pleases me rather', as can be seen in Child with a Dove (1934, lot 12). The collection includes two revealing self-portraits, painted several years apart and in different medium. Whereas The Last Self-Portrait (circa 1933, lot 17) offers a traditional and formalised pose, giving a sense of self-reflection, Woman Seated (Self-Portrait) (1926, lot 16), is settled and peaceful, the artist caught in a moment of drawing or writing at her desk. With her keen interest in poetry, she is perhaps penning verse and would later make a series of drawings of poets including the two of A.S.J. Tessimond and David Gascoyne offered here. The Quentin Stevenson Collection of works by Jessica Dismorr offers an unforgettable opportunity to acquire some of the finest examples by one of the most interesting and significant women artists of the 20th Century, coupled with outstanding provenance from a collector who has shown dedication and unswerving belief over a lifetime. It is fitting that the collection is offered in our fourth iteration of the Blazing a Trail: Modern British Women auction, a sale which strives to promote and celebrate the outstanding work of British female artists in the 20th Century. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing