For many years, Sworders Auctioneers have been championing the work of the artists of Great Bardfield and Benton End. Our clients have come to trust us as the place to buy and sell their East Anglian art and as a result we have achieved many world record prices.
Although located within fifty miles of each other, these two groups were comprised of very different artists and practices. We can think of Great Bardfield, a small village in North Essex, as an artist’s community. Whereas Benton End, located on the outskirts of Hadleigh, Suffolk, was more formally established as an art school by Cedric Morris and Arthur Lett-Haines and was known as ‘The East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing’. Works by Eric Ravilious and Edward Bawden have been achieving strong results for a number of years, but their counterpart John Aldridge has recently gained interest with prices accelerating in 2022. Similarly, with Cedric Morris’s auction prices becoming unattainable for many, the spotlight is now also falling on his pupils with prices for Lucy Harwood and Joan Warburton increasing year on year.
Want to know how much your East Anglian & Great Bardfield Art may be worth? Fill out our easy to use form and a member of the team will be in touch with free advice.
Welcome to the Sworders East Anglian and Great Bardfield Artist Directory where you will find information on the very talented group of artists who resided in Great Bardfield and the area of East Anglia.
Our specialists hold regular valuation days. Please contact us for more information, or complete the online form to enquire about the valuation of your items.
As the gavel readies to strike at Sworders' upcoming Old Masters, British and European art auction, the canvases tell tales of feminine divinity, sanctity, virtue, elegance, and natural beauty. This collection offers a fascinating journey through the multifaceted representations of women, each portrayal a reflection of societal values and artistic sensibilities of the time.
21 June 2024
Edward Atkinson Hornel was a notable Scottish painter associated with the Glasgow Boys, a group of influential artists who sought to break away from traditional Victorian art styles. Born in Bacchus Marsh, Australia, Hornel moved to Scotland at an early age, where he later developed his distinctive style, which combined elements of impressionism and post-impressionism.
3 June 2024
Our upcoming auction features notable works from The House of St Barnabas (in liquidation), including a Banksy Soup Can screenprint, Rob Ryan's papercut The Map of My Entire Life, and the portrait Sisters by Portuguese artist Wanda Bernardino. These artworks, donated by the artists or their galleries, celebrate the legacy of the charity, which closed in 2024.
