The Personal Collection of art dealer Jonathan Grimble

I thought I would put a link to this auction, as the collection very much covers areas that I am interested in and has items that other Forum members might find interesting.

I haven't really put it here because it contains standout items but I think it gives an overview of what someone interest in Cornish art during the late 20th century might end up collecting.

https://www.davidlay.co.uk/auction/details/p0gr-the-personal-collection-of-jonathan-grimble/?au=139

Hi studio-pots, I have always liked these single owner collections and this one is especially good containing as it does nice ,reasonably affordable examples of great Cornish art. I really like many of the lots , but the John Wells piece i would love to own . The studio pottery is a bit thin , maybe he wasn't a great fan, i have already placed a few bids in this sale.

I must be the exception, I disliked nearly everything

croker wrote:Hi studio-pots, I have always liked these single owner collections and this one is especially good containing as it does nice ,reasonably affordable  examples of  great Cornish art. I really like many of the lots , but  the John Wells piece i would love to own . The studio pottery is a bit thin , maybe he wasn't a great fan, i have already placed a few bids in this sale.

There are a few things I would be interested in for myself but I would really like to view, so it's unlikely that I will bid. None of the ceramics though.

He obviously came upon ceramics because they were part of the art scene in Penwith and so they were always an aside.

dantheman wrote:I must be the exception, I disliked nearly everything

I don't think you are the except on the Forum, as there never appears to have been much interest in paintings & sculpture as long as I have been a member.

Ignore Dan he's just naturally grumpy. I think the paintings are the best part. His house must have been a wonder. It all reminds me of summer holidays and childhood and timelessness and easier lighter days before life took over with all it' seriousness

Yes i also had similar thoughts when viewing this sale, Cornwall has always been favourite region for us ,we go there most years and still enjoy it, although with the masses of tourists these days in the main holiday season we find it best to go early in the year .On another note i would have to agree with studio-pots there seems to be little interest in paintings and sculpture in the forum and it is weighted very heavily in favour of ceramics, personally i have equal interests in all 20th century' modern' art and find that many post war ceramics have a place within this movement .

Looking around my house there are more paintings, prints and sculpture in what is "my private collection" if you like than there are pots. I might have a go at putting more things in the Art section of the Forum again when I have the time.

We used to go down to St. Ives February/March time every year during the 1990s but once the living artists became fewer and fewer that stopped. I have been back on occasions since and it is alright but not the same.

Way back then in the 80's we used to collect paintings, when we lived in Plymouth. But life changes, and so did our tastes, as we moved away Looking through that sale was like looking at a visit to old friends. We gave our daughter an Adrian Ryan for her 21st, which she has still got.
A gent with wide tastes. A lot of these paintings there were probably bought from David Lay or W.H.Lane at quite reasonable prices.

I guess Grimble being an art dealer had good access to artists working at that time . As you say prices were more reasonable then and you could visit the New Craftsman gallery, the Penwith and buy ,although never cheap they were still more affordable than many of the current prices . The problem with collecting paintings is hanging space and i guess that most of us are now living in smaller houses so this becomes a problem and ceramics certainly take up less room, we have sold a fair number of paintings in the past few years as there seems to be little point in keeping when you can't display, I think the Tate going to St Ives was great but it brought with it more problems of overcrowding in St Ives, as you say all the artists that made St Ives and Cornwall great are now gone and 'new' ones work well away from the public shut in their lofts producing weak copies of what went before. I will post some painting on the forum to see what response there is.

croker wrote: I will post some painting on the forum to see what response there is.

I look forward to that, croker.