Eager bidders face up to a portrait...
9th July 2022
The variety of pictures on offer at Lawrences on July 6th is best demonstrated by the prices achieved for pictures spanning many centuries.
Two highlights from the 20th Century were `Here We Are in Croydon`, a boldly expressive 1979 lithograph by Sir Howard Hodgkin that realised £2500 and, very differently, a modern Canadian picture by Arthur Heming (1870-1940) entitled ‘At the Water Hole` that depicted Canadian fauna in a sunlit snowy winter landscape. This was bought by a buyer in Canada for £9375.
From the 19th Century, a magnificent 1866 scene of fallow deer in an autumn forest by Andrew Macallum, executed with painstaking attention to detail, showed an almost Pre-Raphaelite intensity of observation. This exceeded hopes of £2000-3000 to make £6875.
From the 18th Century, a portrait of a lady (possibly the actress Elizabeth Hartley) by an artist working in the style of Sir Joshua Reynolds yielded bids above its £2000-3000 estimate to make £4500. A more provincial work was a dramatic foxhunting scene by a `Primitive` artist working in the middle of the 18th century. This large subject, 140cm wide, was hunted down at £5000.
A portrait of a young man, once thought to be a self portrait by the Milanese artist Andrea Solario (1460-1524), attracted keen enquiries. It was 16th Century in style but judged to be later in date. This 55 x 43cm panel exceeded hopes of £5000 to make £17,500. This was secured by a bidder on the telephone from Italy.
