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The Beautiful Game

A collection of artworks not seen in public before depicting football in England is about to go on sale.


Football in England from the 1870s to the 1950s was played as the main pastime for predominantly working-class fans, usually watching from rickety wooden stands. The contrast with the 2022 World Cup and its multibillion-pound air-conditioned stadiums could not be starker.


Illustrating this sporting past is a remarkable collection of 100 paintings, sketches and cartoons that has not been seen in public before. It has just gone on display at the Chris Beetles Gallery in London with a £1.5m price tag. No doubt timed to get a boost from World Cup fever.


Original Football Art is rare and this remarkable collection has taken 30 years to be assembled and curated by Chris Beetles for a private collector who wishes to remain anonymous. It will only be sold as a collection. Artworks will not be sold individually.


Painting: A Cup Tie at Crystal Palace by Charles Cundall
Photograph: Chris Beetles Gallery

The jewel in the collection is A Cup Tie at Crystal Palace by Charles Cundall, depicting a match between Corinthians, a team of mainly ex-public schoolboys, against Manchester City of the then First Division. The 1926 third-round tie was played in the shadow of the Crystal Palace in south London.


One potential home for the collection could be the National Football Museum in Manchester, which has a sizeable collection of football memorabilia, including the balls from the first World Cup final of 1930 and the one won by England in 1966. But time will tell where the collection ends up...


In the meantime, here are three more paintings from this eclectic collection of football art.


Click to enlarge. All photographs courtesy of Chris Beetles Gallery

 
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