Wave by Maggi Hambling, £4400 at Parker Fine Art Auctions.
Wave, a 9¾ x 12in (25 x 31cm) signed oil on canvas from 2012, was a semi-abstract painting showing the booming surf.
It was an example of the artist’s most common subject. Hambling is said to start each day going down to the sea to sketch the ever-changing waters in the early morning.
Her Wave compositions have previously sold at auction for up to £26,000 for the largest pictures; down to around £300 for a print.
The work at the Farnham auction was an attractive example and overshot a £3000-4000 estimate before it was knocked down at £4400 to a collector from Suffolk – a musician who now owns four works by the artist. He told ATG that he perceives a lyrical quality to Hambling’s paintings and was attracted to the “dynamism and vibrancy” of this example.
