I was fortunate enough to be invited to the auction of the sale of Modern British Art from the estate of the late Geoffrey Harley at the Salisbury salerooms of auctioneers Woolley and Wallis last week. There were 190 lots comprising paintings, sculpture and some books. The top price was £102000 paid for the painting on the cover of the catalogue, 'Fish on a plate' painted by William Scott CBE, RA in 1983. It was bought from Beaux Arts, Bath on 4 December 1986.
A much earlier painting by the same artist realised £155150 in 2002 in a Christie's sale so this was not an unexpectedly high price for those in the know.
It's a long time since I was last at an auction, visiting the Planks auction rooms years ago, I was fascinated by how quickly auctioneers get through the lots, and how buyers know the useful things from not so valuable. The auctions I went to were generally household items, my most memorable purchase being a pine chest of drawers, still in use, which I stripped of it's paint in the living room. The warmth of the house encouraged lots of fleas to hatch and we had an infestation from it!
This was the first auction of art I'd attended, and how exciting it was. On entering the auction, there was a large room like a gallery where the paintings hung on the wall, and a smaller room, again with lots of paintings around where the auction was taking place. Bidding took place from those in the audience, at back of the room, where there were about 8 people taking phone bids, as well as online bids. Results of the auction which raised £626000 can be seen below:
https://www.woolleyandwallis.co.uk/departments/paintings/pw070218.aspx
From where I was sitting, I could clearly see these lovely 4 paintings, I'd be happy with any of them in the house.
They are from top left and going clockwise, the top seller, William Scott, then Duncan Grant's 'Still Life of Fruit, Dame Elizabeth Blackadder's 'Amaryillis and Orchids' and Dame Elizabeth Frink RA 'The Horse'. They fetched a total of £137000.
It was quite difficult to photograph some of my favourites which included
Above Peter Mclaren's 'Figure in the Moonlight' had a wonderful quality about it.
Above Mary Fedden's 'Ace of Diamonds', and below and general view of the paintings
This Michael Ayrton sculpture, 'Icarus Rising 111' was rather fabulous.
The thickness of the paint, composition and colours of this painting, below, 'Wee Buttercups' by Kirsty Wither was delightful. She says about her paintings: "My paintings are as much about the actual paint on the surface as about the subject matter.
Working with oil paint, I build up layers of colour and texture to create an image that will hopefully have some resonance with the viewer. Being in the studio is a mysterious place where the paint takes over from any set ideas I start with and often unexpectedly leads me to a finished work."
Jennifer McRae's 'Head of an Athlete' a strikingly beautiful painting
being wrapped up
The excitement of watching the sale, which took about 3 hours to complete was wonderful, I'm hoping this will be a new hobby. Top tip to self though, do some research on the artworks and artists beforehand, the lesser known artists fetch lower prices than the big names and are equally beautiful.
A much earlier painting by the same artist realised £155150 in 2002 in a Christie's sale so this was not an unexpectedly high price for those in the know.
It's a long time since I was last at an auction, visiting the Planks auction rooms years ago, I was fascinated by how quickly auctioneers get through the lots, and how buyers know the useful things from not so valuable. The auctions I went to were generally household items, my most memorable purchase being a pine chest of drawers, still in use, which I stripped of it's paint in the living room. The warmth of the house encouraged lots of fleas to hatch and we had an infestation from it!
This was the first auction of art I'd attended, and how exciting it was. On entering the auction, there was a large room like a gallery where the paintings hung on the wall, and a smaller room, again with lots of paintings around where the auction was taking place. Bidding took place from those in the audience, at back of the room, where there were about 8 people taking phone bids, as well as online bids. Results of the auction which raised £626000 can be seen below:
https://www.woolleyandwallis.co.uk/departments/paintings/pw070218.aspx
From where I was sitting, I could clearly see these lovely 4 paintings, I'd be happy with any of them in the house.
It was quite difficult to photograph some of my favourites which included
Working with oil paint, I build up layers of colour and texture to create an image that will hopefully have some resonance with the viewer. Being in the studio is a mysterious place where the paint takes over from any set ideas I start with and often unexpectedly leads me to a finished work."
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