William Roberts valuation
British painter, a Vorticist in his youth, later known for tubular figures of London life.
William Roberts (1895–1980) was born in Hackney, won a scholarship to the Slade School of Fine Art and joined the Rebel Art Centre, signing the manifesto in BLAST in 1914.
What a work by William Roberts is worth
Send photographs and whatever paperwork came with it. The first question is what the work actually is — edition or unique, when, and in what condition — because everything else follows from the answer. A valuation is free, made online from the photographs you send, and it commits you to nothing. We act for sellers across the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States.
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Bio
William Roberts (1895–1980) was born in Hackney, won a scholarship to the Slade School of Fine Art and joined the Rebel Art Centre, signing the manifesto in BLAST in 1914. He served in the First World War and worked as a war artist. He then developed a distinct style of crowded, tubular figures at leisure in London: cinemas, parks, dance halls and street scenes. From 1961 to 1962 he painted The Vorticists at the Restaurant de la Tour Eiffel, Spring 1915, a group portrait now at Tate. He showed regularly at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition from the 1950s.
What comes to market is oils, watercolours and drawings, and many studies squared up for paintings. A buyer will look at date and subject, with Vorticist works from the 1910s being rare. The William Roberts Society has catalogued much of his work and is a useful reference. Canvases should be checked for cracking and surface dirt, and watercolours for fading.
At a glance
- Born
- 5 June 1895, London
- Died
- 20 January 1980, London
- Movement
- Vorticism
Whitebank Fine Art is an art advisory and gallery, not an auction house, and is not affiliated with any auction house or with the artist, their estate or their representatives. This page describes the range we advise on. Nothing here is investment advice.
