A Selection of Items for Sale




Austin Osman Spare

De Profundis
This drawing is part of a small series portraying oriental monks, perhaps Buddhists, exploring themes related to initiaion. 14.5ins x 9.5ins signed and dated 1931 £1600 Sold

Still Life pictures are a rarity in Spare's work, and come on the market infrequently. There is a series of them in his 1955 Exhibition at the Archer Gallery, West London, and both the pictures here offered for sale come from this series. Spare clearly rated them highly - each of the two pictures presently for sale were priced by Spare at 10 guineas. He seems to have had the series in mind for some time, elements occurring in the 1947 sketchbook pages 'Memorial to a Poetaster', as well as some 1954 sketches, viewable on the website www.occultartgallery.com. Another pastel from this series, 'Voltairesqe', was exhibited in the 1999 exhibition of Spare's work in London, and is included in the exhibition catalogue.


Java and Stafford
Pastel and charcoal on board, 14ins x 18ins; this picture is initialled 'aos' and dated '45', almost certainly an error on his part for '54'; original frame, repainted at some stage. Against a blue backdrop, the picture shows a typical Stafford figurine: a rustic character and his dog. Behind them, as is common with these figurines, is a tree to complete the rural idyll. Spare drew trees as magical entities, congeries of spirits and elemental forces - see, for instance, several examples in the colour plates of Zos Speaks by Kenneth Grant (Fulgur Ltd, 1998), and the picture 'Arboreal Cult' reproduced in Gavin Semple's Zos Kia (Fulgur Ltd, 1995). In 'Java and Stafford' we have the tree as a tortured, flowing entity. Contrasting with the exaggerated woodenness of the man and dog, it seems that this is the spirit trapped in the figurine. Some of the pastel work in this picture is superb; the fruit is deliciously vivid, for instance, and the reflections in the glass dish are of gorgeous, brilliant hues. There is a suggestion of the tree-spirit in one of the 1947 'Memorial to a Poetaster' sketches (fwl28-4-c). The oranges and dish feature in the 1954 sketch 'Burning the Book of W...' (fwl26-3-10). This makes it more likely that Spare did indeed date the finished picture incorrectly. Exhibited London, Archer Gallery, 1955, No. 173. £1800 Sold

Elephant in Jade
Pastel and charcoal on board, 14 x 17; initialled 'aos' and dated '54'; original frame, repainted at some stage. This is a simpler picture than 'Java and Stafford', set against the same blue backdrop. The baby elephant is beautifully drawn, with some subtle green hues on the jade surface of the elephant where the light hits it. The elephant appears in various sketches, most noticeably in "Memorial to a Poetaster" fwl28-4d, which has two elephants in blue pastel; and fwl28-4c, where the elephant is sketched in pencil. Other elements from the picture occur in several 1954 sketches, notably 'Burning the Book of W…' (fwl26-3-10), 'Gods & Goddesses' (fwl27-3-13), 'Female Bust & Goblet' (fwl27-3-15), and 'Female Bust, Goblet, Fruit' (fwl27-3-17). Exhibited London, Archer Gallery, 1955, No. 172 £1800 Sold


Ugly Ecstasy 1
Pencil on paper 16inches by 12inches This drawing dates to c.1924 and is part of the series titled the Book of Ugly Ecstasy. It is initialled and was reproduced in the Fulgur Press book of that title in published in 1996. Despite the high quality of Fulgur production the originals have a subtlty not found in reproduction and certainly not present in the electronic images presented here. These are some of Spares most enigmatic, challenging and finely drawn work. It dates from the same year that Anathema of Zos was written and perhaps demonstrates a refusal to make the tame and decorative images which would have secured him a niche in the artistic establishment The symbolism of this work is extraordinarily sexual. A grotesque armless demon displays her fanny whilst an air dragon throttles her with his tail. Meanwhile a bodyless unicorn figure spews over a walrus like old man and a hideous spermazoa cavorts in the background. The faces are exquisitely drawn. £1200 Sold

Ugly Ecstasy 2
A hermaphrodite mer-being is ridden by a grotesque female figure who is puking. A strangely snake has emerged from her nostril and resets its strange head upon the crown of her head. A winged tricephalous hovers over her shoulder. £2065