The 15-day hybrid selling event, which concluded on July 16, featured around 40 of the capital’s high-end galleries.
A portrait by Gluck (1895-1978) of Georgie Cookson – daughter of the artist’s lover Sybil Cookson – was snapped up early on from Karen Taylor Fine Art for an undisclosed sum to a new private client.
“I always knew it would be a quieter LAW, which it certainly was, but it has been a worthwhile exercise and the sale of the Gluck made it a successful outing for me,” said Taylor.
“Digital outreach is useful, but it doesn’t replace that personal contact and physical viewing which in the drawings world is very important,” she added.
Taylor also sold six smaller works to existing customers, all of whom saw the drawings in person before they purchased.
Debut appearance
Making his debut at LAW, Will Elliott of newly formed Elliott Fine Art sold six works from his dedicated portraits exhibition with asking prices ranging from £2500 for an albumen print of a young Maori woman by Josiah Martin (1843- 1916) to £15,000 for a portrait of an Indian boy by Aime Morot (1850-1913).
“It was just good to get everything up on the wall together, and show my tastes and interests. For me, the primary aim of the week was to get my name out there a bit more and develop some more visibility in the market,” he said.
Piano Nobile in Holland Park, part of a small contingent of galleries participating outside LAW’s usual orbit of St James’s and Mayfair, found buyers for works by Modern British names such as Cedric Morris, William Scott, Duncan Grant, William Crozier and Barbara Hepworth.
The gallery praised LAW’s “beautifully produced platform” and the hybrid element of the event which allowed collectors to view items online and in the gallery.
It added: “We are pleased to say the art market remains robust and high-quality works quickly find new homes and, as can be seen though the salerooms, many works are achieving very high or record prices. Now more than even quality is key and rises to the surface.”
Elsewhere, drawings and watercolour specialist Guy Peppiatt sold a trio of marine works by Charles Gore (1729- 1807), including one to a descendant of the artist.
The collection, comprising some 15 works by the sea-obsessed Gore, was the centrepiece of a larger exhibition of British watercolours.
