Selected works from the Studio of Bernard Myers

Bernard Myers (1925–2007) lived and worked at St Peter’s Wharf, just at the end of Chiswick Mall. Following the recent passing of his widow, Pamela Myers, we were honoured to present more than 70 lots from his studio, showing the full breadth and depth of Bernard’s remarkable artistic career.

This comprehensive offering showcased Myers’ extensive exploration of media and technique, his masterful understanding of light and colour, and his lifelong fascination with design. As well as oils, pastels and prints, the collection included sketchbooks, exhibition catalogues, tools, studio props and pieces of historic furniture once owned by his grandfather-in-law, the 19th-century painter Sir Luke Fildes.

^{LOT 752 - ABSTRACTS WITH SEMI-CIRCLES: SET OF 3 - PASTEL ON PAPER - £300-500}

A Life in Painting

Myers’ early oils feature subjects close to his Windsor studio – rooftops, the Thames Estuary and seascapes. His frequent travels north inspired landscapes of the Paps of Jura, the Forth Bridge and the Tyne, while his love of London is reflected in vibrant depictions of the city’s bridges. Venice, too, proved a rich source of inspiration, captured in moody, atmospheric oils.

One reviewer of his 1995 exhibition in Canterbury wrote: “Here was a Venice which I recognised – a city of dirt, smells, mist and oily water… Venice as the Venetians see it.”

Further afield, the sale included vivid and intimate scenes from Spain, India and Mauritius – painted in small formats with richly applied pigment and a painterly immediacy that captures the experience of travel and place.

 LOT 735 - WATER STUDIES (THE THAMES): A PAIR - OIL ON PAPER - £250-350

Figurative Work and Still Life

Equally expressive are Myers’ studies of the female nude. Created rapidly with brush and palette knife, these oils are marked by thick impasto and compelling immediacy. Similarly, his still lifes – whether of fruit, flowers or studio tools – reflect his skill and compositional balance, often executed in his distinctive pastel technique.

Of his use of pastels, Myers once wrote: “My system is smooth and tight and rather laboured, with the pastel carefully and slowly applied in distinct patches and layers… I evolved the technique when confronted with the usual artist-teacher’s problems: lack of unbroken periods of time necessary for the start-to-finish development of a picture.”

Still life, he noted, was also “very convenient to those of us who have to earn our living by means other than painting… Once set up it is there, ready and waiting and easily controlled.”

^{LOT 713 - NUDES, STANDING IN THE STUDIO: SET OF THREE - OIL ON PAPER - £200-300}

Legacy and Influence

Alongside his prolific studio output, Myers taught at the Royal College of Art, where he was regarded as an inspiring and practical mentor. He believed teaching clarified rather than hindered his own work, and his legacy as both artist and educator is clear in this body of work.

This landmark studio sale offered collectors and admirers an opportunity to explore and acquire pieces from every period of Myers’ varied and expressive career – from abstract compositions to delicate still lifes, vibrant landscapes and figurative studies.

^{LOT 703 - STILL LIFE WITH A VASE OF FLOWERS, FRUIT AND CAKE-STAND – PASTEL ON PAPER - £250-350}

Interested in a complimentary valuation of your Modern British or Irish Art?

Contact our team at modernbritishart@chiswickauctions.co.uk or submit an online valuation.