LONDON.- The Sunshine Roof, a rare linocut by Cyril Power, is one of the leading lots at Bonhams Prints and Multiples sale on 18 December at the New Bond Street saleroom. The print is estimated at £25,000-30,000.

Cyril Power (1872-1951) began his career as an architect, making the transition to printmaking in the 1920s. He became both lecturer and student at the Grosvenor school in Pimlico, London. Famous for its vibrant prints that engage the contemporary styles of Futurism and Vorticism, the Grosvenor School sought to express the dynamism of the modern, machine age. Along with his contemporary Sybil Andrews, Power became one of the most prominent alumnus of the school – his years as an architect manifest in fine draughtsmanship that uses dynamic patterns and rhythms of colour to convey the hectic pace of modern life in London.

Executed circa 1934, Sunshine Roof depicts the Green Line bus from London to Hertford, driven by Power’s son, Cyril Arthur Power. Published in an edition of 60, this linocut has appeared only rarely at auction. The linocuts display a unique quality that differs from the popular, mechanical reproduction of prints today. Sunshine Roof will be offered with six other prints by Powers with a combined estimate of £120,000.

Cyril Power, Tube Station, circa 1932, estimated at £25,000-35,000 will also feature at the sale.

Bonhams Director of Prints and Multiples, Lucia Tro Santafe said: ‘The series of seven prints by Cyril Power maintain a remarkable quality of impression that allow them to endure as lasting and vital images of their era – prints of this quality rarely come to auction. As well as Power, the sale will offer prominent printmakers such as Marc Chagall, Andy Warhol and Albrecht Dürer, displaying the rich history and variety of techniques behind the medium of printmaking.”

Elsewhere at auction:

• Marc Chagall, Cirque Portfolio, estimated at £100,000-150,000 was printed in an edition of 250 in 1967. The portfolio contains 38 lithographs that highlight Chagall’s fascination with the circus spectacle and its performers.

• Banksy, Nola (Blue and Green Rain), estimated at £40,000-60,000 is a screenprint produced in 2008

• Andy Warhol, Alexander The Great, estimated at £40,000-60,000 is a screenprint produced in 1982 and is number seven in an edition of 65.

• Pablo Picasso, Femme Endormie (Sleeping Woman), estimated at £15,000-20,000, is a linocut from 1962 that comes numbered 42 in an edition of 60.

• Albrecht Dürer, Erasmus, estimated at £12,000-18,000, is a fine early impression from 1526 of the great scholar and humanist.