Strange Discoveries
The Art of Denton Welch
10-30 October 2025
(Preview: 9 October by RSVP)
11 Fitzroy Square
London W1T 6BU
About
Since its launch in 2021, John Swarbrooke Fine Art has built a reputation for opening up new perspectives on modern British art. The gallery takes a thorough, art-historical approach that sets 20th-century art and artists in international cultural contexts – seeking to share discoveries, celebrate unheralded artists, and contribute whenever possible to scholarship on the field.
John Swarbrooke Fine Art presents several focused exhibitions a year in London at venues such as the Backroom Foundation, Fitzroy Square, and No. 9 Cork Street. Recent exhibitions include ‘Pixerina Witcherina’, featuring paintings and drawings by the Bloomsbury Group, and ‘Macabre’, inspired by Edward Burra’s love of the macabre. In autumn 2025 the gallery will mount the first exhibition dedicated to the art of Denton Welch in more than four decades.
The gallery has previously sold work to the British Museum, and has strong relationships with a number of museums in the UK, US and continental Europe. It participates in events and art fairs including Trois Crayons and the British Art Fair, and is a member of the Society of London Art Dealers.
For more details on exhibitions please click here
Biography
John Swarbrooke is a leading expert on 20th-century art, with particular interests in reasserting the international networks and relevance of modern British artists, and drawing attention to artists whose work has been unduly neglected. Since the launch of John Swarbrooke Fine Art in 2021, he has successfully negotiated high-value sales to major private collectors in the UK, US and continental Europe, including works by members of the Bloomsbury Group, by British surrealists and by leading modern artists such as Picasso and Matisse.
John is the founder of the Denton Welch Society, to be launched in 2026, which celebrates the legacy of Welch and works to bring greater visibility to his art and writing. He is Chief Curatorial Advisor to the Backroom Foundation, London, curating regular exhibitions drawn from its collection of 20th-century art.
Prior to establishing John Swarbrooke Fine Art, John was a specialist at Dickinson Gallery, London, and worked in the Impressionist and Modern Art department at Sotheby’s. He studied English at the University of Cambridge before taking a Master’s degree in history of art at the Courtauld Institute.