New exhibition at Sotheby's sees Sixties art swing back into London

The London art scene of the Swinging Sixties has been recreated in an exhibition that claims some of its forgotten stars as the original Young British Artist.

John Kasmin, the dealer who gave David Hockney his first break 50 years ago, has curated a show with Sotheby’s that aims to capture the spirit of a decade whose stars won immediate and widespread success — like that later enjoyed by Damien Hirst and other young artists championed by the likes of Charles Saatchi.

Important post-war names such as Richard Smith, Bernard Cohen and Jeremy Moon are included in the show alongside acknowledged stars such as Hockney, Bridget Riley and Sir Anthony Caro.

But according to Mr Kasmin, and post-war experts at the auction house, a lack of private and corporate patronage of contemporary art at the time meant that comparatively few British artists went on to achieve the acclaim of their European or American counterparts such as Willem de Kooning or Barnett Newman. Many resorted to teaching to the detriment of their careers.

Mr Kasmin, now 78, was at the heart of a new gallery scene in the Sixties with Robert Fraser — the dealer famously busted for drugs with Mick Jagger — and the short-lived Indica gallery where John Lennon met Yoko Ono.

He said: “There was an enthusiasm. You’d have shows in galleries that weren’t just visited by a few old ladies up from the country. You suddenly had crowds.

“British fashion, British music, there was suddenly a moment, just like now, all over again, when London is suddenly the most exciting country in the world.”

The exhibition, The New Situation — Art In London In The Sixties, includes some works for sale and some on loan. It runs at Sotheby’s in New Bond Street from Sep 4-11, sothebys.com.