# Robert Colquhoun artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/robert-colquhoun/
Profile generated: 2026-05-31T04:24:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1914-12-20
- Death date: 1962-09-20
- Nationality: Scottish, British
- Movements: Expressionism
- Common media: oil painting, lithograph, monotype, theatre set design

## About Robert Colquhoun

Robert Colquhoun (1914–1962) was a Scottish painter, printmaker, and theatre set designer whose career peaked among the most recognised British artists of the mid-twentieth century. Born in Kilmarnock and trained at the Glasgow School of Art, he formed a celebrated lifelong partnership with the painter Robert MacBryde — together known as 'the two Roberts' — at the centre of a bohemian London circle that included Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, and Dylan Thomas. Colquhoun's early work depicted rural Ayrshire labourers, but his mature style shifted toward an austere Expressionism shaped by Picasso, concentrating on solitary, angular figures rendered in muted tones. A prolific printmaker, he produced numerous lithographs and monotypes alongside his paintings. He also collaborated with MacBryde on notable theatre designs for John Gielgud and Sadler's Wells. His work is held by Tate, MoMA, and other major public collections.

## Common works and media

Oil paintings of angular, isolated figures and rural subjects form the core of Colquhoun's painted output. He was a prolific printmaker, producing lithographs and monotypes in editions that appear regularly at auction. Theatre set designs and related drawings from his collaborations with Robert MacBryde also surface in the market. Portrait, nude, and genre subjects are documented across his career. Works range from large canvases to smaller works on paper and prints.

## Market and appraisal context

Colquhoun's auction profile includes oil paintings, lithographs, monotypes, and works on paper. His strongest market presence relates to Expressionist canvases from the mid-1940s to early 1950s, the period when he exhibited regularly at the Lefevre Gallery in London. Prints appear frequently at auction and typically realise lower prices than paintings. Key valuation factors include the work's period, medium, provenance (particularly Lefevre Gallery or institutional history), condition, and confirmed attribution. Collectors should note that his critical reputation declined after the 1950s, and auction results vary considerably across his output.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine independent artist-identity research from museum, library-authority, and scholarly sources with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Robert Colquhoun, identity data is grounded in Tate, MoMA, Getty ULAN, VIAF, and RKD records.

## Sources

- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/robert-colquhoun-932
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/1198
- RKD — Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/17836
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/34728837/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500031142
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3938239
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Colquhoun
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n77003904