Gluck
Painter, bohemian and social pioneer, Gluck, was one of the most interesting artists of the early 20th century. Born Hannah Gluckstein she pursued artistic training, to the exasperation of her well-to-do family, and later used her trust fund to join an artist’s colony Lamorna, West Cornwall. By the age of 23, she had begun to call herself Gluck, wearing men’s clothing, cropping her hair, smoking a pipe and adopting an androgynous style. Howard Coster’s classic photograph, perhaps the definitive image of the artist alongside the self-portrait that recently lead the Tate’s exhibition Queer British Art 1861 – 1967, shows Gluck in all her glory: hair cropped short, dressed in an unashamedly masculine work coat, exuding total confidence in who she was. A strikingly modern image of a strikingly modern woman, this image belies the fact that was created over 70 years ago. In 1973, The Fine Art Society exhibited a solo show of 52 pieces of her work – the first since 1937, and the last before her death in 1978. The gallery also held a retrospective of Gluck’s work in 2017 in conjunction with two other exhibitions looking at work by women artists.

Sir George Frampton
One of the most highly regarded sculptors of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, Frampton’s most famous work is undoubtedly his statue of J.M. Barrie’s beloved literary character, Peter Pan, which to this day remains a favourite feature of Kensington Gardens in London. Offered in the sale will be one of an edition of eight full-scale versions of the cast commissioned by The Fine Art Society from the artist’s estate in in 1987.

Furniture
Unafraid to break new ground, The Fine Art Society’s pioneering ethos was matched by a revolutionary aesthetic, with its Bond Street galleries furnished with custom made ‘office furniture’. Far removed from what was readily available at the time, the furniture was specifically to complement the works of art on view. Amongst pieces of the original furniture in the sale there is a special mahogany table designed for displaying works on paper by George Faulkner Armitage - redolent of the bohemian era from which it comes.