13/09/2001
by Emma Saunders

The current retrospective of Michael Andrews (1928-1995) which runs at the Tate Britain, London until the 7^th October, 2001 provides an unprecedented opportunity to explore the career of this artist with works from private collections and museums. While the ‘Lights’ series are currently his most sought after works, this exhibition is a chance to appreciate his true breadth from the soulful humour of his early paintings to the acute lucidity of his last. James Rawlin expert in Modern British Pictures at Phillips auctioneers, London considers Michael Andrews as a great British artist, whose works are a strong investment "if you can find one".

This is a crucial point - there is really very little for sale. Nothing at all is coming up at Sotheby’s, Christie’s, Bonhams or Phillips in the foreseeable future. Collectors are happy to retain their paintings and museums will certainly not give them up. Over the last ten years only five oils and five works on paper have been through auction and all of these have been minor works. Such minor works have performed erratically at auction, good results for example, include the most recent, Moonlit Pond, 22 x 32cm, a watercolour from 1981 sold at Christie’s, South Kensington, London in November 1997 for $ 5,370 (€ 5,950) after an estimate of $ 730-1,170 (€ 810-1,290). Similarly, an oil on board The House opposite 13 Park Lane, Norwich, 1956, 22 x 29cm, was sold at Sotheby’s, London on June 21^st 1995 (just two days after the death of Michael Andrews) for $ 6,000 (€ 6,700) after an estimate of $ 2,190-2,900 (€ 2,420-3,200). Before his death, there were also good performers such as in Christie’s London sale in November 1990 where two oils both entitled Head of a Man, 19.5 x 21cm, each significantly exceeded estimates of $ 2,190-3,670 (€ 3,540-4,000) each. The first sold for $ 19,300 (€ 21,340) and the second for $ 16,900 (€ 18,670).

Disappointing results have included Portrait of John Press, the poet, on the steps of Norwich School Chapel, 1958, 76 x 56cm which was bought in at Christie’s, London in March 1993 after an estimate of $ 2,920-4,380 (€ 4,720-4,850). In May 1992, a pencil work The Bedroom, 29 x 27cm was sold at Phillips, London for a disappointing $ 300 (€ 331), below estimate, $ 440 (€ 480) after previously being bought in at their 1992 March sale against an estimate of $ 1,460-2,190 (€ 2,360-2,420). Also Study for the family in the garden, 1960, pencil on paper, 20 x 20 cm sold for a mere $ 350 (€ 390) at Bonhams, London in 1990 after an estimate of $ 730-1,000 (€ 1,180-1,130).

However, these few available results reveal little about the current strength of his market as they span a decade and are mostly minor works. Works sold after Andrews death in 1995 significantly surpassed their estimates, although as the last was sold in 1997, this is still no indication of how a major work might perform. It can be said however, that the market would seem ripe for Andrews, particularly after the excellent exposure of the Tate retrospective. The value of his work also seems set to increase, as his paintings become more widely acknowledged and even scarcer.

Timothy Taylor of Timothy Taylor Gallery who represent the estate of Michael Andrews emphasises: "Michael Andrews did not produce many works as he would usually paint consecutively rather than in groups. His work was collected in depth and paintings were usually spoken for on completion by loyal collectors or museums. Andrews’ paintings have the mastery of his contemporaries Leon Kossoff, Frank Auerbach, Lucien Freud and Francis Bacon and this comparison is already seen in the price of his works." Taylor considers that if a significant oil painting were to become available one could now expect to pay over $ 750,000 (€ 810,000) as there is such high demand for his large works and virtually none currently for sale, with a limited number of small oil paintings at his gallery priced from $ 50,000 (€ 55,360) upwards and small watercolours from $ 30,000 upwards (€ 33,200). He also argues that Andrew’s prices already are in the sphere of Kossoff and Auerbach in the private market.

James Rawlin of Phillips considers that to attain the prices of Freud or Bacon it would be essential for Andrews to be promoted in the United States, in the same way that the Arts Council promoted Lucien Freud. However, whether or not Michael Andrews becomes a big name in the States, it seems certain that the paintings of this quintessentially British artist will be increasingly esteemed and treasured in the UK.