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A remarkable painting named ‘Fires of Victory, Moscow,’ by Sir Claude Francis Barry (1883 – 1970) is to be sold at Bonhams’ forthcoming sale of 20th Century British Art on 11 July in London. Last year saw the 60th anniversary of the celebrations, so it is fitting that this painting is likely to attract bids above its upper estimate of £60,000, creating a world record price for the artist.

The Fires of Victory in Moscow would have been lit to celebrate VE day one day after the rest of Europe, on 9 May 1945. The Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin, refused to accept the surrender signed in Rheims on 8 May, and he insisted the treaty was ratified in Berlin the following day.

Until recently, Barry was not a familiar figure on the auction scene and indeed details about his life remain something of an enigma. Born into a wealthy aristocratic family, he sold few paintings during his lifetime and left a prodigious body of work in his studio when he died. He studied at Newlyn and St Ives, and exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Royal Society of British Artists and the Salon des Artists Français. In some ways his style was more aligned to French than English painting, and during the First World War he began experimenting with the French style of ‘Pointillism.’ From this he went on to develop the style he is best known for today, as Bonhams’ Head of Paintings, Caroline Oliphant, explains:

“Many people now associate Barry’s best works with a variation of a movement known as Divisionism – he separated colours into spots and used them in conjunction to deliver a more vibrant result. It was this style that he chose for a number of the large-scale, war-related canvases of the 1940s, and which delivers such a spectacular result in ‘Fires of Victory, Moscow.’”

In 2001 Bonhams discovered a wonderful Pointillist work by Barry in a private collection, and ‘Victory Celebrations’ sold for what was then a world record price of £45,500. Later in the same year Bonhams broke that record with ‘Blitz on St Paul’s’ which realised £49,900 – a sure sign that the art world was finally taking note of this highly individual and capable painter.

While the record for a Barry painting currently stands at £83,980, Bonhams is confident that the high degree of interest in his work combined with the Russian subject matter, will secure a new world auction record for the artist. Russian art and subjects of Russian interest are currently attracting enormous interest in the art world, as evidenced by the success of Bonhams' inaugural Russian Sale late last year. Bonhams' next Russian Sale will take place at 101 New Bond Street on 1 June.

The painting is oil on canvas and measures 137 x 171.5 cm

For more details visit the Bonhams web site.