Art Market

Fitzroy Square to the north of central London was a key location in early 20th century British art. Virginia Woolf lived here for several years, a few doors down from Bloomsbury Group artist Duncan Grant, and James Abbott McNeill Whistler also had a studio.

This archetypal still-life by Cecil Kennedy (1905-97) topped Halls’ (20% buyer’s premium) £300,000 auction on October 18.

The value of ‘Outsider’ art continues to grow following the dispersal of one of the UK’s largest collections at Anderson & Garland (25% buyer’s premium).

A brace of unrecorded pastels by celebrated Scottish Colourist SJ Peploe (1871-1935) sold strongly at Lawrences (22% buyer’s premium) in Crewkerne.

Figuring why a specific lot did unexpectedly well is part and parcel of reviewing auctions but this oil on board lunette of a pastoral idyll below is more of a challenge than most.

This evening village scene by the landscape painter James Hamilton Hay (1874- 1916) drew multiple bids at Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood (21% buyer’s premium) in Exeter on October 3.

A double portrait by Federico Beltran Masses (1885-1949) attracted a flurry of bids at Bonhams’ (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) 19th Century European, Victorian and British Impressionist art auction on September 27.

Winter landscape. Early 20th century, possibly Russian or Scandinavian school, and ‘indistinctly signed’. That was lot 222, summed up in the catalogue at Chiswick Auctions (23% buyer’s premium) in London on October 3.

The clearance of a neglected local property by Lincolnshire auction house Batemans (20% buyer’s premium) unearthed several treasures including two watercolours by the 18th century British painter Thomas Girtin (1775-1802).

A near-monochrome watercolour by the Australian artist and stage designer Loudon Sainthill (1918-69) sold for five times its top estimate at Canterbury Auction Galleries (20% buyer’s premium) on October 3-4.

Since the Celtic Tiger’s demise a decade ago and the tailspin that ensued, the Irish art market has evolved into a more cautious and less speculative beast. The latest round of sales held towards the end of September and into October showed steady (if not spectacular) demand, especially for the big, bankable names.

Adam’s mammoth annual Country House Collections auction is designed to cater to those with spacious, preferably period, abodes.

The Emerald Isle was not the only place selling Irish art recently. In London on September 27, Sotheby’s (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) offered a collection of paintings and personal effects belonging to the family of Irish poet WB Yeats and his brother, artist Jack Butler Yeats.

During his nights spent ‘fire-spotting’ for flying bombs during the Blitz, it is said the artist and occultist Austin Osman Spare (1888-1956) would while away the hours filling sketchbooks.

Half a dozen works by the obscure British artist Valentine Dobrée (1891-1974) sold for multi-estimate sums at Reeman Dansie (20% buyer’s premium) in Colchester on September 26-27.

Modern sculpture, including a small rediscovered marine ivory piece by Eric Gill (1882-1940), took centre stage at Duke’s (22% buyer’s premium) in Dorset.

A pair of watercolours depicting Berwick-upon-Tweed, the northern-most town in England, turned up at Batemans (20% buyer’s premium) on September 2.

A nude painting by the 19th century English artist William Etty (1787-1849) starred in Sworders’ (22% buyer’s premium) sale in Essex. The 2ft 2in x 19in (66 x 49cm) oil on panel shows a naked woman in a wooded landscape, her head and body turned away from the viewer.

“There really does seem to be life in the traditional market”. Woolley & Wallis’ (22% buyer’s premium) latest Old Masters, British & European Paintings sale in Salisbury left specialist Victor Fauvelle in a buoyant mood.

Paintings by one of Wales’ more obscure artistic talents sparked fervent bidding at Rogers Jones’ (20% buyer’s premium) Welsh Sale in Cardiff.