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Camden New Journal - by DAN CARRIER
Published: 10 May 2007

War hero artist’s work set to go up for auction

THE life work of an eccentric Swiss Cottage artist goes under the hammer next week.
A collection of 500 paintings, easels, brushes and even Second World War flying log books of Gordon Bennett, who died last year, are being sold by a Hampstead auction house.
Mr Bennett, who was 85, was a war hero: hailing from Sheffield, he was studying art at the Sheffield College of Arts and Crafts when war broke out. He enlisted in the RAF and was later shot down over Libya. After the war he returned to art, combining commercial work with a teaching career.
Mr Bennett left no close relatives – he never married – and his work is being sold by solicitors dealing with his estate.
Auctioneer Colin Smith said he was stunned when he stepped into Mr Bennett’s studio.
He said: “The sheer scale of the collection is staggering.
“I have never come across anything like this before. He was a prolific artist.”
The sale is at the Hampstead Community Centre on Thursday, May 17, at 6.30pm.

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