Art Market

Mabel Lucy Atwell (1879-1964) began her formal artistic training at St Martin’s School of Art in London, but abandoned her courses to pursue a career that saw her produce those sentimentalised depictions of chubby, mostly cheery, rosy cheeked children.

Forget London. Decent Old Masters can be auctioned anywhere – so long as there is an internet connection.

About a month ago, collector Robert Mulraine launched a website dedicated to the artist Thomas Baker of Leamington (1808-1869). A great enthusiast of the Victorian landscape painter, he has been working with the curatorial team of the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery to create an online ‘Memoranda of Pictures’ based on the artist’s five diaries in the museum’s collection.

Details on the back of a pastel drawing lead to detective work and royal portraitist connection...

Fieldings’ picture consultant William Lacey said he could remember a time 30 years ago when works by Wigan artist James Lawrence Isherwood (1917-89) could be bought for £30-40.

Victorian landscapes can often be difficult to shift at auction, but a fine panoramic view near Redhill in Surrey by Edward John Cobbett (1815-99) gave a boost to the Boningtons (20% buyer’s premium) sale in Epping on August 21.

One of the less commonly known facts about Sir John Bernard Partridge (1861-1945), the lead cartoonist at Punch magazine, was that he had a spell as an actor in his youth.

Working horses painted by the Australian artist Harold Power (1878-1951) starred at Charles Ross Fine Art (17.5% buyer’s premium) on August 19 in Woburn, Bedfordshire.

Views created by vessel’s captain envisaged a kinder end to its career than a tragic collision...

Two slightly different versions of Fortunino Matania’s (1881-1963) desirable Southport Lido poster topped a July 7 online auction at Onslows (20% buyer’s premium) of Dorset.

Fine examples of John Sell Cotman’s (1782-1842) draftsmanship appeared at separate auctions in the south of England.

A raft of contemporary and post-war art featured in the busy August schedule in Scotland. Such art remains a picky and tempestuous market north of the border. The latest results were scattered with a mix of bullish and more subdued results.

A 19th century painting depicting the death of Horatio Nelson soared to £21,500 at Lawrences (22% buyer’s premium) of Crewkerne on July 14.

Naïve-style paintings of livestock remain one of the liveliest sectors of the 19th century pictures market, judging by the response to several examples offered in Gloucestershire.

A large oil painting offered at auction for first time depicts notorious figure from Charles II’s court and sells for five times top estimate.

As well as the Richard Platt consignment, David Lay offered more than 100 lots of modern art by a local Cornish family.

More than 100 Russian paintings consigned from a single source went under the hammer at Moore Allen & Innocent’s (18% buyer’s premium) July 7 sale in Cirencester.

Found among the contents of a storage unit, a watercolour of Venice by Edward Lear (1812-88) starred in Brighton General Auctions’ (15% buyer’s premium) sale on July 28.

Little-known but well-connected artist proves a hit as his widow sells 40 works in Penzance.

Southern softness and northern grit were both on display at Tennants (20% buyer’s premium) of Leyburn on July 15.