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This release has ended but it may be possible to buy/sell from other collectors on the secondary market.
Keith Cunningham: The Lost Master
HENI is proud to release Keith Cunningham: The Lost Master, featuring a selection of paintings from Cunningham’s Sky Studies series created between 1984 and 2002. Each piece, executed in either watercolour or pastel, is unique, signed and dated. Vibrant and dramatic, these compositions reveal a major body of work by one of the most compelling and mysterious artists in post-war Britain. The paintings are available by application until 17:00 BST on 26 June 2025.
The release features framed watercolour and pastel paintings across several sizes. The Sky Studies offer a compelling entry point for collectors, providing access to a more playful and vibrant side of Cunningham’s practice. The works are on view at the HENI Gallery for the duration of the release as part of the exhibition Keith Cunningham: The Lost Master.
An exclusive selection of Keith Cunningham’s oils on canvas will be sold by appointment only.
About Sky Studies
Over several decades, Keith Cunningham created vibrant studies of the sky which engage with colour in a surprisingly contemporary visual language. Produced almost daily, like an intimate visual diary, these pieces record the constant change of clouds and light. A previously unseen group of Sky Studies, subdivided into Watercolours and Pastels, are on display and available to purchase until 26 June 2025. To view all artworks available, download our index here or click the links "View all Watercolours" and "View all Pastels" below.
Watercolours
With loose, transparent washes and a lightness of touch, Cunningham’s watercolours capture fleeting shifts in weather, colour and light. Their vivid colour palette may have reflected the influence of his travels in Spain, echoing the unearthly tones of painters like Goya, Zurbarán and El Greco, whose work Cunningham admired.
Framed Watercolour paintings
Pastels
By contrast, Cunningham’s pastels are more minimalist and structured, leaning into abstraction and reflecting his background in graphic design. Stark contrasts, flattened planes and geometric shapes give these works a distinct visual rhythm, with their stylised compositions and explosive colour palette suggesting a controlled energy, balancing spontaneity with intention.
Front and verso of a framed Pastel painting
About Keith Cunningham
Keith Cunningham (1929-2014) was a painter of astonishing skill, widely admired by peers and mentors alike. Trained at the Royal College of Art in the 1950s alongside Leon Kossoff and Joe Tilson and a revered contemporary of Francis Bacon and Frank Bowling - a group that would go on to define post-war British art - Cunningham was tipped for greatness early on.
But unlike his contemporaries, Cunningham walked away from the spotlight. By the late 1960s, he had turned his back on the public art world entirely. Yet, he kept painting in the solitude of his studio, creating some of the most powerful and uncompromising works of post-war British art.
When Cunningham passed in 2014 at the age of 85, he left behind an extraordinary body of work spanning large-scale oils, delicate pen-and-ink drawings, and lyrical sky studies in pastel and watercolour.
HENI Talks has released a new film exploring the artist’s life and legacy, featuring thought-provoking insights on the significance of Cunningham's work from contemporary art giants - including Damien Hirst, Peter Doig, Sir Frank Bowling, Ralph Taylor and Hans Ulrich Obrist.
About the Oil Paintings
Striking for their psychological depth and material intensity, often heavy in palette and rough in texture, these works evoke the haunting atmosphere of the Old Masters Cunningham admired.
The selection of oils includes 24 paintings in various sizes and features works produced between 1952 and 1960. The works come framed and have been signed by Keith Cunningham on the verso.
Available to access by all, but sold by appointment with the curator, a hidden room within the exhibition offers collectors and curious visitors a rare opportunity to experience some of the artist’s most intimate and rarely seen works, presented in an atmosphere that closely mirrors the privacy in which they were created.
Keith Cunningham, Dog, 1953, Oil on Canvas, 62 x 51 cm (unframed), signed
Visit HENI Gallery
A selection of the Sky Studies and Oil Paintings are on display at the HENI Gallery from 13 June until 4 July. Admission to the gallery is free. Click here to learn more about the exhibition.
HENI Gallery
6-10 Lexington St, London W1F 0LB, United Kingdom
Open Monday - Sunday, from 10am to 6pm.
Exclusive Books and Posters
You can now buy exclusive posters for Keith Cunningham: The Lost Master as well as the books Keith Cunningham: Dancers and Keith Cunningham: Paintings from HENI Publishing on the HENI shop.
The posters and books will also be available for purchase at the HENI Gallery.
Timeline
The Sky Studies original artworks are available for a limited time only. If you wish to purchase a work, please click on the Apply Now button below. If you have any questions, please see the FAQs below or contact customer support.
APPLICATION
The purchase period for the works opens on HENI Primary on 12 June and will last 14 days, closing on 26 June. You can apply for your desired sizes and mediums of Sky Studies. Artwork allocation within each category is random, but you can specify preferences in the notes. We’ll try our best, but high demand may limit fulfilment of all requests or quantities.
ALLOCATION
After the purchase window has closed, we will start allocation of the works.
DISTRIBUTION
HENI estimates that we will start shipping the artworks from 6 weeks after the exhibition has closed. Customers will be contacted with a tracking number before the work is shipped.
FAQ
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
If you have any questions, you can explore our FAQs here. If you want to get in touch, please contact customer support or ask a moderator on Discord.
HENI is proud to release Keith Cunningham: The Lost Master, featuring a selection of paintings from Cunningham’s Sky Studies series. Each piece, executed in either pastel or watercolour, is unique, signed and dated. Vibrant and dramatic, these compositions reveal a major body of work by one of the most compelling and mysterious artists in post-war Britain. The paintings are available to purchase by application from 12 June to 26 June 2025.
The release features framed pastel and watercolour paintings across several sizes, created between 1984 and 2002. The pastel and watercolour skies offer a compelling entry point for collectors, providing access to a more playful and vibrant side of Cunningham’s practice.
The works are on view at the HENI Gallery for the duration of the release as part of the exhibition, Keith Cunningham: The Lost Master. An exclusive selection of Keith Cunningham’s oils on canvas will be sold by appointment at the HENI gallery or by enquiring directly here.
Sky Studies is an application-based release. We aim to ensure that allocations are as broad and fair as possible, rather than based on a ‘first come, first served’ basis, and therefore each application will be reviewed individually. You can apply for multiple artworks if you wish.
When you apply, you'll select your desired sizes and mediums for the Sky Studies artworks, along with the quantity you'd like of each. For instance, if you apply for "3 Sky Studies Watercolours – Small," you're agreeing to receive any three artworks from that medium in the small size. You can view all available artworks before applying, but specific selections cannot be guaranteed.
We understand you may have preferences. You're welcome to include notes with your application—for example, your favourite colours or particular artworks by their artwork code. We'll do our best to take these preferences into account when allocating, but please note that all allocations are subject to availability and cannot be guaranteed.
Our aim is to allocate artworks as broadly and fairly as possible. Given the anticipated high demand, we may not be able to fulfil all requests, or all quantities you've applied for.
We will carefully review each application and aim to begin notifying successful applicants in the weeks following the close of the application period.
By submitting your application, you confirm that you are happy to receive any artwork(s) in the size(s) and medium(s) you have selected.
Keith Cunningham’s masterpieces in oil will be sold by inquiring directly with the HENI client liaison team.
Available to access by all, but sold by enquiring directly, a hidden room within the exhibition offers collectors and curious visitors a rare opportunity to experience some of the artist’s most intimate and rarely seen works, presented in an atmosphere that closely mirrors the privacy in which they were created.
Please enquire here for more information.
Sky Studies is priced in USD and can be purchased using credit or debit card. Please ensure when submitting your payment details that you enter the correct billing post/zip code information for the payment card you are using.
When applying for Sky Studies you will be asked to provide details of a credit or debit card. HENI will carefully review each application and aims to start notifying successful applicants in the coming weeks after the application period has closed. Only after you have been notified of your successful application will HENI arrange to take payment. HENI will automatically attempt to take payment using the payment method supplied at the time of the application. If this payment method fails, you will be notified by email with a custom payment link that you can use to complete payment. You have 48 hours from the time of the email to complete your payment, otherwise your allocation will be revoked.
The oil paintings are priced in USD and sales are handled by the client liaison team. If you’d like to enquire, please do so here.
We may perform KYC (‘Know Your Customer’) checks to verify your identity digitally. Your dedicated Client Liaison Team contact will explain further.
The Lost Master, Sky Studies and Oil Paintings do not come with a Certificate of Authenticity.
The Lost Master, Sky Studies and Oil Paintings are on display at the HENI Gallery from 13 June - 26 June 2025. Admission to the gallery is free, with no appointment required.
Open Monday to Sunday, 10 AM – 6 PM
HENI aims to dispatch all the artworks within 6 weeks of the close of the application window. Please note that the exact timing is subject to demand and potential shipping delays. As soon as your order is ready to dispatch, you will receive an email confirmation with the tracking information.
The artworks are shipped from the UK and can be shipped internationally. The prices indicated are exclusive of VAT, delivery charges, insurance or any customs or import duties or local taxes that may be payable. For orders shipping to the UK, Standard Rate VAT will be applied and collected at the time of payment.
If your shipping address is outside the UK, you will be responsible for any customs or import duties and local taxes that may be payable. Where such duties or taxes are payable in respect to any works ordered, HENI does not collect and pay them on your behalf. You are responsible for paying any amounts due directly to the applicable customs authority. HENI is not able to offer any guidance on customs or import duties or local taxes, and we recommend that you contact your local customs office for details.
Should the need arise to change your delivery address it is possible; however, if you choose to deliver to a different country than initially requested, this could impact the total value of your original order. Please complete and submit the Change of Address Request Form and one of our Customer Care advisors will be in touch to confirm.
There are certain countries that HENI cannot ship to. If you would like more information or should you encounter an error during the checkout, please contact Customer Care here.