Some of the artist’s other works have fetched six figure sums
The work of art Abstract Composition was painted in 1921 by Percy Wyndham Lewis(Image: Avon and Somerset Police/ Getty)
A work of art stolen in Bristol last month could be one of the highest value art thefts in recent years in the city, Bristol Live can reveal. Mystery surrounds what happened to the painting, which was taken from a property in the city centre, with police carrying out house-to-house inquiries and scouring CCTV to establish exactly when it was taken and where it went.
The artwork, called Abstract Composition, was painted by renowned early 20th century English artist Percy Wyndham Lewis. He made his name in the years before the First World War as a modernist painter and the founder of the Vorticist movement of art that mixed Cubism and post-impressionism.
Wyndham Lewis’s art movement was shattered by the outbreak of the Great War, and he served in the trenches before becoming an official war artist. After the war, he returned to painting and writing, and in 1921, painted Abstract Composition as part of a new exhibition called Tyros and Portraits.
Wyndham Lewis was one of the most famous modern artists in Britain in the 1920s, but as he entered his late 40s, he went more into writing, becoming an acclaimed novelist and magazine writer.
British novelist, artist and critic Percy Wyndham Lewis (1882-1957) in his Royal Artillery uniform(Image: Hulton Archive/ Photo by George C. Beresford/Beresford/Getty Images)
The exact value of the work of art stolen in Bristol is unknown, but records show it was for sale at an auction house in September 1990 – 35 years ago – for £40,000. Wyndham Lewis’ work varies wildly in price when it’s up for auction, depending on whether it’s a sketch, pen drawing or, like the artwork stolen in Bristol, a full painting.
His major work has been sold in the 2010s and 2020s for well over £50,000 and in several cases fetched six figure sums.
Police said that it was stolen from an address within Brandon House, a Georgian building on Brandon Steep, next to the Unite Students Brunel House complex, between City Hall and Brandon Hill, close to the city centre.
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Alerts have gone out into the art world among auction houses and dealers warning people that the painting has been stolen, and asking those within that world to contact police if they see it offered for sale.
“We are appealing for information following the theft of a painting from a property in Bristol,” said a spokesperson for Avon and Somerset police. “The art was reported stolen during a burglary at a property in Brendon Steep on Monday 25 August.
The painting was the only thing taken in the Brendon Steep burglary(Image: Avon and Somerset Police)
“We are now appealing to members of the public to help us locate the artwork and for anybody who may have been offered it for sale to contact us. CCTV and house-to-house enquiries have been carried out, and no other items were stolen.
“Anybody who may know where the painting is, have been offered it for sale or anybody who saw anything suspicious on the day of the burglary, is asked to call 101 quoting 5225241717, or complete our online appeals form,” he added.