WHEN Nell Gifford was undergoing treatment for cancer she found it therapeutic to capture circus scenes on canvas and on paper.

The Giffords Circus co-creator’s talent as an artist is now being revealed in an auction of her work at Olympia Auctions.

Mother-of-two Ms Gifford died aged 46 on December 8 following a lengthy battle with breast cancer.

Into a Land of Pure Magic: An Exhibition of Paintings of Circus Life by Nell Gifford will take place at Olympia Auctions in West London in February, featuring more than 70 paintings by Ms Gifford, all completed in a year.

The online auction will be held from February 10 to February 28, with an exhibition week being held from February 20 to February 27.

Olympia Auctions spokeswoman Antonia Grace said Ms Gifford had a ‘natural ease with ink and watercolour’

She added: “There is a magnetic immediacy to Nell’s watercolours of circus scenes; explosions of paint, scattered spots and specks and glowing luminous pools of coloured light immerse her nimbly depicted horses and performers. It is as though the viewer were watching a live performance."

Ink drawings of balletic stills of acrobats on horses pay homage to their balance and nerve, and silent thoughtful scenes of a figure on a horse conjure up the pre-performance steadying of nerves.

Ms Gifford wrote about her feelings on many of the works, exposing her emotional ties to the circus which sustained her throughout the challenges of her third and fourth cycles of chemotherapy.

The direct and moving phrases ‘Be brave’ and ‘from this day forward we face the light’ express her resilience, according to Olympia Auctions staff.

A painting with an excerpt from Dante’s Divine Comedy, and another with the title of St Augustine’s Theory of Knowledge ‘The Light of the Mind’ reflects Nell’s literary upbringing and her own love of literature which she studied at Oxford University.

Mr Avery, an artist and illustrator who worked with Damien Hirst for nearly nine years, encouraged Ms Gifford to experiment with ink, watercolour and water itself, resulting in a variety of figurative and abstract mark making.

Amanda Lay, an art consultant and family friend, organised Nell’s first informal show in a tent at the circus in the summer of 2018 after seeing her potential. It was a sell-out.

Giffords Circus, which tours Oxfordshire the Cotswolds and surroundings areas, will be in its 20th year next year.

Circus colleagues have promised to make it a special year in tribute to Ms Gifford with a show called The Hooley.

Giffords Circus said: “Her vision for Giffords Circus was to bring happiness, imagination and enliven people’s souls. Giffords Circus shall continue to do just that.”

Other events during the exhibition, including a charity evening will be announced in due course on the website olympiaauctions.com