An exceptionally rare painting by Scottish artist Agnes Miller Parker, considered to be a masterpiece of British modernism, is to be sold at auction.
The Horse Fair could fetch between £80,000 and £120,000 in fine art auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull's forthcoming Scottish Paintings & Sculpture auction.
The work, painted in 1928, is believed to be one of only a handful of such paintings by Miller Parker, who later became known and celebrated as a wood engraver and illustrator.
The painting, on long term loan to the National Galleries of Scotland between 2016 and 2025, was acquired directly from Miller Parker by acclaimed Scottish author Naomi Mitchison. It has remained in her family since her death in 1999.
The Horse Fair has previously been included in two landmark exhibitions; Modern Scottish Women: Painters & Sculptors 1885-1965 (2015 to 2016) and A New Era: Scottish Modern Art 1900-1950 (2017 to 2018). Both were staged by the National Galleries of Scotland.
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Born in Irvine in Ayrshire in 1895, Miller Parker trained in painting and drawing at The Glasgow School of Art, where she met fellow student, William McCance. They married in 1918 and moved to London two years later where they were part of a lively creative, progressive and intellectual scene.
They lived with avant-garde artist William Roberts in Earl’s Court before moving to Chiswick, near Hammersmith. There, they became friends with Naomi Mitchison and her husband, British Labour politician, Gilbert Richard ‘Dick’ Mitchison. Other friends included the artists Blair Hughes-Stanton and his wife, Gertrude Hermes.
In 1925, the McCances were described by poet and polemicist Hugh MacDiarmid as "that clever couple from Scotland who believe in cubist methods".
MacDiarmid declared that "Mr and Mrs McCance" were "unquestionably the most promising phenomena of contemporary Scotland in regard to art."
As the art critic of The Spectator from 1923 until 1926, McCance, who was also an artist, kept abreast of the modern art movement, which brought him and Miller Parker into contact with numerous artists and writers.
The Horse Fair is a lively painting, populated by people and animals and containing story after story, from beer tent, to band, cart horses and dogs. In it, the artist explored Vorticism, Cubism and their offshoots.
Miller Parker and McCance separated in 1955 and she returned to Glasgow. Following their divorce in 1963, she moved to Lamlash on Arran before her death in Greenock in 1980.
Alice Strang, Lyon & Turnbull’s Senior Specialist in Modern and Contemporary Art, said: "Agnes Miller Parker was one of only a few Scottish artists who engaged with modernism in London between the wars.
"Her paintings were original, complex and ambitious. The Horse Fair, at just over a metre in width, is perhaps Miller Parker’s most ambitious. It’s keenly observed, skilfully orchestrated and packed full of human and animal interaction at the height of the rural calendar.
"Given that the artist is best known for her engraving and illustration work, I think many people will be astonished to learn that she was a painter of such significance.
"The Horse Fair’s importance was recognised by her friend, the writer Naomi Mitchison, who cherished it for all of her life.
"This is an incredibly rare opportunity to not only acquire a painting by one of Scotland’s leading 20th century artists, but also one which is important within modern British art history."
