Thursday, June 29, 2017

Ronald Searle: Portraits of Officers

On June 29, 2011, twenty-nine lots of original artwork by British caricaturist Ronald Searle were auctioned off at Christie's South Kensington. Many of these pieces were original St. Trinian's cartoons and they sold exceedingly well. In fact, only one Searle lot failed to sell, a portfolio of nineteen caricatures of officers from HQ 18th Division dating from Searle's military service in the second World War.

Later the portfolio was sold elsewhere and individual portraits were offered on eBay in October 2011. Individual drawings continue to show up from time to time at various auction houses. A dozen of them are shown here, but a few got away...

For starters, here's Christie's South Kensington Lot 709 from June 29, 2011:

Nineteen caricatures of officers from HQ 18th Division (one illustrated)
UnsoldEstimate
£800 - £1,200
($1,277 - $1,915)
Set of 19: pencil and pen and black ink, loose in a folio
22,9 x 17,8 cm
9 x 7 in


The eBay offerings:

1


CARICATURE PORTRAIT OF PADRE H.Q. 18TH DIVISION (2)

MEDIUM  - SIGNED PEN AND INK ON PAPER 
ARTIST - RONALD SEARLE B1920
DATE -  C1940S
SIZE 23 x 18cm (9 x 7 inches) IMAGE


Ended:Oct 16, 201109:03:08 PDT
Bid history:
Starting bid:GBP 70.00
Approximately US $111.64
Price:GBP 150.00
Approximately US $239.22



CARICATURE PORTRAIT OF MAJOR H.Q. 18TH DIVISION (3)

MEDIUM - SIGNED PEN AND INK ON PAPER 
ARTIST - RONALD SEARLE B1920
DATE - C1940S
SIZE 23 x 18cm (9 x 7 inches) IMAGE
Bid history:





CARICATURE PORTRAIT OF CAPTAIN H.Q. 18TH DIVISION (4)
MEDIUM - SIGNED PEN AND INK ON PAPER 
ARTIST - RONALD SEARLE B1920
DATE - C1940S
SIZE 23 x 18cm (9 x 7 inches) IMAGE

Ended: Oct 16, 201109:10:16 PDT 
Bid history:
Winning bid:GBP 70.00
Approximately US $111.64

CARICATURE PORTRAIT OF CAPTAIN H.Q. 18TH DIVISION (5)
MEDIUM - SIGNED PEN AND INK ON PAPER 
ARTIST - RONALD SEARLE B1920
DATE - C1940S
SIZE 23 x 18cm (9 x 7 inches) IMAGE

Ended:Oct 16, 201109:15:14 PDT
Bid history:
Starting bid:GBP 70.00
Approximately US $111.64
Price:GBP 150.00
Approximately US $239.22



6 LT

Bid history:




CARICATURE PORTRAIT OF OFFICER H.Q. 18TH DIVISION (7)
MEDIUM - SIGNED PEN AND INK ON PAPER 
ARTIST - RONALD SEARLE B1920
DATE - C1940S
SIZE 23 x 18cm (9 x 7 inches) IMAGE



Ended:Oct 16, 201110:25:01 PDT
Bid history:
Starting bid:GBP 70.00
Approximately US $111.64
Price:GBP 150.00
Approximately US $239.22




CARICATURE PORTRAIT OF OFFICER H.Q. 18TH DIVISION (8)
MEDIUM - SIGNED PEN AND INK ON PAPER 
ARTIST - RONALD SEARLE B1920
DATE - C1940S
SIZE 23 x 18cm (9 x 7 inches) IMAGE
Bid history:






CARICATURE PORTRAIT OF OFFICER H.Q. 18TH DIVISION (9)
MEDIUM - SIGNED PEN AND INK ON PAPER 
ARTIST - RONALD SEARLE B1920
DATE - C1940S
SIZE 23 x 18cm (9 x 7 inches) IMAGE
Bid history:




CARICATURE PORTRAIT OF OFFICER H.Q. 18TH DIVISION (10)
MEDIUM  - SIGNED PEN AND INK ON PAPER 
ARTIST - RONALD SEARLE B1920
DATE -  C1940S
SIZE 23 x 18cm (9 x 7 inches) IMAGE
Bid history:



CARICATURE PORTRAIT OF OFFICER H.Q. 18TH DIVISION (17) 
MEDIUM - SIGNED PEN AND INK ON PAPER 
ARTIST - RONALD SEARLE B1920 
DATE - C1940S
SIZE 23 x 18cm (9 x 7 inches) IMAGE 
Ended: 
Oct 16, 201110:46:21 PDT
Bid history:
Winning bid:GBP 70.00
Approximately US $111.64




CARICATURE PORTRAIT OF OFFICER H.Q. 18TH DIVISION (18)
MEDIUM - SIGNED PEN AND INK ON PAPER 
ARTIST - RONALD SEARLE B1920
DATE - C1940S
SIZE 23 x 18cm (9 x 7 inches) IMAGE
Bid history:




19. Officer
Bid history:


Nine of the unsold drawings from this portfolio were later offered as a group on eBay with a low opening bid:

ALBUM OF 9 ORIGINAL RONALD SEARLE B1920 SUPERB PEN & INK CARICATURES SIGNED
Item condition:      --
Time left:   4d 18h (Nov 11, 201109:55:50 PST)

Bid history:
Starting bid:GBP 100.00
Approximately US $160.26





Note:  My 2011 post on the Christie's auction may be found here. I would appreciate hearing from anyone with scans of the missing Searle portraits.

Quick Links to the Attempted Bloggery Archives:

Ronald Searle

World War II
Attempted Bloggery's Wartorn Index



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