'Girl reading', a printer’s proof lithograph by Paula Rego – £7000 at Forum Auctions.
The 17 x 12in (44 x 32cm) printer’s proof, numbered from an edition of four, was created in 2002, shortly after the Portuguese painter had completed a series of 25 lithographs inspired by Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, a novel she had long been fascinated by.
It drew keen bidding at London saleroom Forum Auctions (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) on September 25 and was purchased by a private UK client at £7000, well above its £500-700 guide.
Secondary market prices have been on an upward trajectory for Rego’s figurative work. In 2015 a print from the same series sold in an online-only sale at Christie’s for £1500 (plus fees), while another artist’s proof of Girl Reading made £625 (with fees) that same year.
