About

Founded in 1979, Austin/Desmond Fine Art initially operated from stables near Ascot, opening their first gallery in 1986 at Sunninghill. Austin/Desmond moved to its current location in Bloomsbury in 1988.

The gallery’s primary focus over the past 30 years has been in Modern British art, promoting and exhibiting aspects of a genre that had become neglected and unfashionable. Our exhibitions and catalogues have mirrored a gradual reassessment of this period, making it an attractive option for new and more experienced collectors alike.

Austin/Desmond has specialised in work associated with the St Ives group of artists, including; Ben Nicholson, Barbara Hepworth, Roger Hilton, Paul Feiler, Margaret Mellis, Terry Frost and Peter Lanyon. Selected artists who have been the subject of one-person shows are Prunella Clough, Francis Davison, Wyndham Lewis, David Jones, Keith Vaughan and Alfred Wallis. Works by Frank Auerbach, David Bomberg, Lucian Freud, Naum Gabo, Ivon Hitchens, Leon Kossoff, Bridget Riley and Graham Sutherland are exhibited on a regular basis. British Constructivist artists such as Victor Pasmore, Anthony Hill, Mary Martin and Kenneth Martin are also well represented.

In the last 10 years the gallery has participated in major European and American art fairs focusing on International Post-war art. European artists shown include Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni, Enrico Castellani, François Morellet and Günther Uecker. Featured American artists include Alexander Calder, Dan Flavin and Sol Lewitt.

Recently the galley has formed an important collection of Concrete and Neo-Concrete art from Latin America. Artists include Hélio Oiticia, Lygia Clark, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Jesús Raphael Soto and Sergio Camargo.

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