It was a white-glove result for Andrew Jones (25% buyer’s premium) in Los Angeles when it dispersed the collection of Lady Victoria White of Beverly Hills on October 10.
A large slice of the auction total of nearly $1.8m including premium was provided by two paintings by the British equestrian artist Sir Alfred Munnings (1878-1959).
Topping the bill at $400,000 (£294,115) against a $200,000-300,000 guide was The Kilkenny Horse Fair of 1922, pictured here and previewed in ATG No 2510.
The 20in x 2ft (51 x 61cm) oil on canvas, signed AJ Munnings lower left, had a provenance to London dealer Richard Green, the collection of George H Bostwick then a sale at Sotheby’s New York in November 2001.
Lady White’s lifelong love of horses was reflected in several works in the sale by Munnings, all of which appeared at auctions at Sotheby’s New York in 2001.
Making a Polo ground at Princemere by Sir Alfred Munnings - $130,000 (£95,590) at Andrew Jones.
They also included his oil on canvas titled Making a Polo Ground at Princemere. This 2ft 1in x 2ft 6in (64 x 77cm) work, signed AJ Munnings lower right, had a provenance to Frost and Reed of London then a Canadian private collection sold at Sotheby’s New York in June 2001. It made a mid-estimate $130,000 (£95,590).
Two other works by Munnings were non-equestrian subjects which made lower prices. A 20 x 2ft (51 x 61cm) oil on panel from 1928, Winter at Flatford Mill, signed in the same manner lower right and last under the hammer at Sotheby’s New York in November 2001 realised $27,000 (£19,850).
A 17 x 17in (43 x 43cm) canine portrait of an Irish setter from 1910, signed and dated lower right and inscribed lower left Lark III, which featured in the same Sotheby’s auction, realised $17,000 (£12,500)
Notable coolers
A pair of late 18th century silver wine coolers that sold for $30,000 (£22,060) at Andrew Jones.
A wealth of furniture and decorative objects, Oriental and European porcelain and glass, silverware, books and garden furniture also featured in the auction of just under 400 lots described by the firm’s Andrew Jones as “English country house meets California chic”.
A notable price in the silverware was the $30,000 (£22,060) paid for a pair of George III period 8in (20cm) high 90oz wine coolers by John Mewburn with liners by Benjamin Laver, 1798.
They were engraved with armorials for a branch of the Scottish family Drummond of Lennoch and Megginch, most likely for Vice Admiral Sir Adam Drummond (1770-1849).
£1 = $1.36
