Fine Art

A watercolour by John Nixon (1755-1818) showing St Paul’s Cathedral and the City of London from Regent’s Park in the early days of the land’s development is offered at Guy Peppiatt Fine Art for £6500.

Inherited Dutch Old Masters offered alongside recently acquired modern works by artists such as Walter Sickert, Edward Seago and Gerald Kelly proved a winning formula at Dreweatts’ (25% buyer’s premium) country house dispersal held on May 1 at Donnington Priory.

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

Painted by Lt Gen Henry Hope Crealock (1831-91), this 6ft 8in (2m) wide pen and ink drawing is an eyewitness account of The Action of Bareilly – the battle of the last stronghold of Indian independence in 1858.

When it comes to buying limited-edition prints by LS Lowry (1887-1976), those produced by one publisher in particular stand out above the rest for collectors.

A portrait by John Opie (1761-1807) led nearly two dozen family portraits from the historic Penrose Estate in Porthleven, Cornwall, at local Penzance saleroom David Lay (18% buyer’s premium) on May 2.

An oil in gilt frame by John Thomas Serres (1759-1825) of 'The Entrance to Plymouth Sound' offered at Charles Miller’s (24% buyer’s premium) April 30 auction represented a primitive but effective early sat nav for ships.

A classic oil on canvas of yacht racing by renowned British painter Montague Dawson (1890-1973) was top-seller of The Marine Sale at Bonhams Knightsbridge (27.5/25/20/13.9% buyer’s premium) on May 1.

Scottish artist Alan Davie’s (1920- 2014) oil on canvas 'Jumpin’ at the Woodside' (1965), which is on offer at Richard Green Gallery, references a jazz number with the same title released by Count Basie in 1938.

This pair of half-length portraits by Sir Peter Lely (1618-80) features in Thomaston Place Auction Galleries’ next sale to be held in Maine from May 31-June 2.

This over life-sized marble bust depicts Emperor Didius Julianus, who ruled the Roman empire for just a few short months in the year 193AD. His fleeting 66-day reign took place during the tumultuous period known as ‘The Year of the Five Emperors’ and came to a grisly end when he was murdered by a common soldier.

Godwin Swifte, who styled himself as Lord Carlingford, was a member of one of Ireland’s notable families and a maverick of early flight.

Although the antiquities market is more stringently regulated than ever before, the possibility of illicit material continues to cause concern for collectors of antiquities. This places a greater financial value on pieces with long watertight provenances.

Among the top lots at Christie’s (25/20/13.5% buyer’s premium) trio of Old Master sales during ‘Classic Week’ was a rediscovered oil sketch by Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825) for 'The Distribution of the Eagle Standards'.

A monogram and faint signature to a botanical study sold at Derbyshire saleroom Hansons (20% buyer’s premium) revealed it to be the work of celebrated Australian artist Sidney Nolan (1917-92).

On May 17 Stair Galleries in Hudson, New York, is selling the collection of Indian artefacts from the estate of David Swope of Ossining, NY.