Grayson Perry – Ceramics & Prints at Chiswick Auctions

This summer, Chiswick Auctions is delighted to present three significant works by Sir Grayson Perry, one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary British art. Spanning ceramics and printmaking, these works encapsulate the artist’s enduring engagement with themes of identity, society, and personal history, with each piece offering a window into Perry’s singular creative world.

Born in 1960 into a working-class family in Chelmsford, Essex, Grayson Perry has become renowned for his use of irony, sarcasm and wit, which he weaves throughout his subject matters and mediums. Working across a variety of mediums, from monumental tapestries, ceramics, prints and drawings, Perry brings together the personal and political with disarming candour and craft.

Perry’s work is deeply personal, with autobiographical exploration at the heart. His work frequently reflects on a challenging childhood, marked by his father’s abandonment and the introduction of an abusive stepfather. His experience as a young transvestite further cemented his interest in identity, representation and politics. His work is marked with recurring motifs and characters, most notably Claire, his female alter ego, and Alan Measles, his childhood teddy bear, serve as an intimate narrative device to navigate issues of gender, trauma, class and belonging.

In 2003, Perry’s career took a significant turn when he was awarded the Turner Prize for a selection of ceramic works. Ceramics are often relegated to the world of decorative arts, and this is the first time the prize was awarded to a ceramicist. Perry intentionally chose the medium to challenge fine art expectations and connect with a wide audience who are often more drawn to familiar mediums than abstract and conceptual works, which are often selected for the Turner Prize.  Accepting the prize, Perry declared, “It’s about time a transvestite potter from Essex won the Turner”.

Grayson Perry Ceramics – Modern British & Irish Art, 25th June

Although Grayson Perry is a multidisciplinary artist, he is especially celebrated for his ceramics. As part of our Modern British & Irish Art auction on 25th June, we are delighted to offer two iconic Grayson Perry ceramics for sale: Isms (1998) and Quilt (1998).

Sir Grayson Perry C.B.E. R.A. (British, b.1960), Isms, Estimate £30,000 - £50,000

Isms is a visually rich and politically charged ceramic vase, densely inscribed with references to ideological movements—ranging from feminism, socialism and consumerism, to Fauvism. It combines multiple decorative and technical elements, including photographic transfers, embossing, and hand-incised text, creating a surface that is both physically and conceptually layered.

Sir Grayson Perry C.B.E. R.A. (British, b.1960), Quilt, Estimate £30,000 - £50,000

Quilt, by contrast, draws on the visual cues of Pop Art, using bold colour and playful iconography to explore cultural identity, creating a visual tension between surface appeal and psychological depth. Perry often uses these contrasts to provoke emotional contradictions, dark themes wrapped in bright, joyful colour.

Together, Isms and Quilt exemplify Perry’s ceramic mastery.

Grayson Perry Map of an Englishman – Prints & Multiples, 3rd July

In addition to his celebrated ceramics, Grayson Perry’s printmaking is a core part of his artistic practice. We are proud to offer his seminal etching, Map of an Englishman (2004), in our Prints and Multiples auction on 3rd July. This important work marks Perry’s debut in etching and remains one of his most recognisable prints.

A cornerstone of Perry’s print work, Grayson Perry’s Map of an Englishman is a satirical, cartographic portrait of the British psyche. Drawing on antique map styles from the 16th and 17th centuries, geographical landmarks are replaced with states of mind, social behaviours, objects and emotions. Places such as The Moment, Straight-Jacket, and Botox populate this imagined landscape, an inner world rather than an external one.

Created in collaboration with master printmaker Hugh Stoneman. Stoneman gave Perry sheets of acetate on which he could draw directly; these drawings were then transferred onto four copper etching plates, etched and printed onto a single sheet of Rives paper. Its handcrafted aesthetic, deliberate in its separation of plates, creates the hand-crafted aesthetic that defines Perry’s style.

Sir Grayson Perry C.B.E. R.A. (British b.1960), Map of an Englishman, Estimate £70,000 - £100,000

Held in numerous public collections, Map of an Englishman remains one of Grayson Perry’s most recognisable and enduring prints. It continues to resonate as a symbolically rich and psychologically complex portrait of Englishness.

Enquire or Register to Bid

For more information about the Grayson Perry ceramics for sale in the 25th June Modern British & Irish Art auction, contact:
modernbritishart@chiswickauctions.co.uk

For enquiries about Grayson Perry Map of an Englishman in the 3rd July Prints & Multiples auction, contact:
prints@chiswickauctions.co.uk