About this lot

Description

Bathing in the river signed and dated in pencil 'Diego Rivera 28' (lower left) watercolour and pencil on buff paper the reverse with a label for the Academy Art Shop Picture Framers, New York City 11.5 x 20cm

Footnote: Provenance Collection of the late James Benson OBE (1925 - 2018) Following his wartime service as a midget submariner and ‘charioteer’, James ‘Jimmy’ Benson OBE, forged a distinguished international advertising career, ultimately becoming the Vice Chairman of Ogilvy & Mather and overseeing the conglomerate’s expansion into more than 40 countries. Benson was called upon to join the war effort as a Mid-Shipman in 1943. Before he had reached 20, Benson was second-in-command of the midget submarine X23 and, by the end of the Second World War, had become an authority of midget submarines. Together with fellow submariner, C E T Warren, Benson co-authored Above Us the Waves , enormously successful, the book sold more than 35,000 copies and spawned an eponymous film, released in 1955. In 1959 Benson made his move into advertising, joining Mather & Crowther and, in 1965, was appointed Chairman. Following the successful merger of Mather and Ogilvy, in 1978 Benson and his wife, Ria, relocated to New York, where Benson became a pivotal figure in the agency and right-hand man to ‘the father of advertising’, David Ogilvy. Benson authored several notable campaigns for multi-national corporations, including Rolls Royce, Shell and Schweppes. Benson was also a passionate and discerning collector of American and European art, collecting works by Wolf Khan and Sir Robin Philipson, amongst others. In February 2020, Cheffins sold part of his collection and are delighted to include the present two works by Diego Rivera in the sale.

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