Austin Osman Spare
Items from the Coil Collection
Spare was a major influence upon the work of the avant-garde rock group Coil. The band’s work was halted by the accidental death of John Balance in November 2004. The band acquired one of the most important collections of the artist’s work. The collection will be exhibited for about two weeks at a gallery in Bond Street, London, towards the end of this year. As these items are clearly important components of the collection and the corpus of Spare’s work they are offered on the clear understanding that any purchaser will make them available for the exhibition. A catalogue will be produced which may include illustrations of these works.
Background information about Coil and its members can be found at:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coil_%28band%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Balance
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Christopherson
Original Pencil Drawing on Wood
28ins x 17ins, Initialled A.O.S. and dated 1953 in what appears to be the original frame. On reverse in pencil is inscribed “No. 12” which may well indicate that it was exhibit number 12 in the an exhibition held at the end of 1953 at the White Bear pub in Lambeth (one of the less posh areas of London – Spare exhibited his work in rooms above pubs with no compromise to popular culture aside from touching humanistic portraits of the people around him). If this is the case it is titled “Fumambulatory Ecstasy”. A tightrope walker is a fumambulist and this probably refers to the “Neither – Neither” state. In Agape 1975 Ramsey Dukes described this as “… a thought process by which Spare endeavors to break through the limitations of dualistic thought in four steps. We start by considering any quality, for example ‘light’. Duality immediately links that to the opposing quality ‘dark’. The next step is to consider the combination of these two qualities - as in ‘dusk’ - and then we attempt to make the next step and meditate upon the absence of those two qualities - the ‘Neither-Neither’ as opposed to the ‘Both-And.’ Two of the figures are Janus-faced perhaps expressing the Neither – Neither state. One appears to be a horned hermaphrodite perhaps his lust is generating the female figures and the faces that lurk in the surround swirling lines. It is strongly reminiscent of Spare’s portrayal of witches and the witches Sabbat, it would seem for Spare the Sabbat was a mindspace that could be glimpsed. This is in accord with some working the modern tradition of Sabbatic craft and also, ironically some medieval inquisitors who thought the accounts of sabbats to be delusional, but delusions born of the devil! Please note that, because of the subtle contrasts of pencil on wood and being glazed this item is particularly difficult to photograph, images rarely do originals justice and this is particularly so in this case. Order Ref. COIL 1 UK Pounds 3500
Magical Stélé
Protection From Evil by Psycho-somatic Strength, 16ins x 10ins, ink, pencil, pastel and watercolour on plywood 1955. Signed and titled by way of original label retained by previous owner Frank Letchford and affixed to his label on reverse of the item. (Image of label)His label adds a further spell to the item “Protection from headaches – to which I was subject – and for a healthy happy married life”. The original label carries the number 66 confirming it to be the stélé exhibited in the 1955 Archer Gallery exhibition where it was carried the variant intent “Desire for Psycho-somatic Strength. It appears probable that when Frank Letchford acquired the stele from Spare the artist added the additional intent mentioned by Letchford in association with the personalisation of the Stele to the recipient by incorporating his initials into the design. Gavin Semple’s Study for a Portrait of Frank Letchford published by Fulgur in 1998 informs us that Letchford purchased the item prior to the exhibition but then lent if back to Spare so the exhibition would be complete. He also tells us that only ten stele are known to have been made by Spare. The stele features Isis holding her sistrum, Aztec God forms (a pantheon Spare used on other occasions for his magical work). Praying Eyes of Horus, sigils and numerous characters from Spare’s Alphabet of Desire. Fine condition. Order Ref. Coil 2 £4850
Magical Stélé
14ins x 9ins, ink, pencil and watercolour on plywood 1953 Created by Austin Osman Spare for Frank Letchford who has attached a label to the reverse stating “A Stele (after the little tombstones designed by the Ancient Greeks for their friends) by AUSTIN OSMAN SPARE (1886 – 1956) for his friend Frank W. Letchford at the time of marriage to Joyce Turner in 1953 – for their future good health and happiness. Sigils formed from the initials of my name and that of Spare and Joyce as Isis the Mother-Goddess. Spare self-portrait lower right…. But to remember that it is false to sell whilst Frank and Joyce They do live still; bad luck has befallen those who sell their own stele in their own lifetime” (image of label). It will be noted that it has close similarities in design with the stele above Very slight warping top the boards otherwise Fine condition. Order Ref. Coil 3 £4250
A Book Hand Decorated by Spare
Clifford Bax, Ideas and People, Lovat Dickson 1936 1st Ed. 296pp Plates including frontispiece of the author. Has 13pp chapter “Sex in Art” of which 6pp discuss Spare with some delightful anecdotes, It is illustrated with a striking plate of a younger Spare next to a chalice adopting the Horned God posture devised by Aleister Crowley. Bax and Spare co-edited the Golden Hind together. It would appear that Spare was delighted with the references to him as he has richly embellished this copy for his friend with hand drawn faces and vignettes in coloured pen and watercolour, many with a coloured border reminiscent of Spare’s “vibrationary” portraits portraying the subjects aura. The front cover has a pen drawing of Bax with his name written incorporated into the looping lines. The front pastedown has a coloured pen and watercolour satyrised portrait of Bax captioned “Clifford Bax Ex-libris”. On the obverse of the front free endpaper a horned self portrait in coloured ink and watercolour is titled “A.O.S. ex-libris”. The reverse of the front free endpaper appears to be a smaller stylised self portrait whilst the pre-title carries a larger head, perhaps a stylised portrait of Bax. The reverse of the pre-title carries a abstract vignette whilst the reverse of the frontispiece has a delightful image of Bax, his hair rising like flame. The title page has a vignette of Bax and its reverse has a face emerging from abstract loops which incorporate Spare’s initials. The facing page has two vignettes, one a head the other faces emerging from abstract loops. The next page a vignette and a finely drawn head. The reverse of the contents pages has a finely drawn head, the following page an abstract vignette. The following page has a finely drawn image of two heads incorporating Spare’s name and then follows an abstract vignette. At the back of the book are three abstract vignettes with suggestion of faces emerging from the looping lines. The front hinge is loose and there is some general wear to the covers, overall Good sound condition. Two newspaper cuttings, one a review of the book mentioning that Spare has an exhibition near the Elephant and Castle whilst the other mentions Bax. A striking and important artefact of the friendship of Bax and Spare. Order Ref. Coil 4 £1850