Determined bidding at home & abroad

The Paintings, Drawings & Prints auction

Sunday Wednesday 31 January 

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Wednesday’s Paintings, Drawings & Prints auction offered an eclectic mix of British and international artworks, and it was Austrian artist Walter Langhammer (1905 – 1977) who was the top lot of the day.  Known for his impressionistic style and patronage of the arts in Bombay, the deep, warm colours in Indian Woman with Amphora excited collectors and drew determined bidding from telephone and internet bidders in India, Austria and Australia. The picture eventually sold to a bidder in the room for well above its high estimate at £3,800 (lot 22).

As we jump from India back to Scotland, Horatio McCulloch’s (1805 – 1867) brooding depiction of Bothwell Castle (lot 107) also attracted fierce competition. Strong provenance on the reverse of the piece traced it to an Edinburgh auction house in January 1875, which proved irresistible to collectors and saw it sell for well above its original estimate (of £200 – 400) for £800 hammer.

Ralston Gudgeon (1910 – 1984) continues to be a collector’s favourite; represented in both gouache and watercolour, there was good bidding for all four Gudgeons with a hammer high of £300 for his beautiful depiction of a Bullfinch (lot 154) in gouache. A magnificent Kingfisher (lot 152) was also well-admired on the view and strong bidding saw the hammer fall above estimate at £180, proving that his intricate gouache compositions are very much in demand.

And finally, the last leg of the auction saw us jump back over to the other side of the world with Australian artist Norman Lindsay’s (1879 – 1969) The Green Hat (lot 169) which sold mid-estimate for £2,200. Evidently, this was a truly international auction.

We are currently inviting entries for our next Paintings, Drawings & Prints auction on Wednesday 14 March.  If you have interesting artworks you are considering selling, we are accepting entries until Wednesday 28 February.

Click here for information on selling pictures at McTear’s >>