A group of two watercolours and a print was estimated at just £80-120 in a timed auction ending on January 3 at Berkshire saleroom Thimbleby & Shorland (12% buyer’s premium) and attracted multiple bidders.
Although sparsely catalogued, one of the watercolours was signed by the prolific Irish landscape artist William Percy French (1854-1920).
French, who was also a poet, musician and entertainer, exhibited regularly with the Royal Hibernian Society and the Watercolour Society of Ireland as well as several galleries in London. Works often appear on the market and can command five-figure sums for most impressive examples of known locations in his native country.
The work in Reading depicted a tree in marshland and measured 7 x 9½in (18 x 24cm). It was similar in subject, style and composition to another slightly larger example that fetched €3600 (£3185) at Whyte’s of Dublin in November 2018.
Generating notable bidding against the modest estimate, the lot at Thimbleby & Shorland was knocked down at £2600 to a buyer on thesaleroom.com.
