Bellany 'Fishing' Oils Catch The Attention Of Art Lovers

Seven stunning works by one of Scotland’s finest and most important post war artists will headline McTear’s first Scottish Contemporary Art Auction of 2025 next week.

The works by the late Port Seton artist, John Bellany (1942-2013), include four large fishing scenes - a subject close to Bellany’s heart and one he returned to time and again during his career - and a wonderful Lucca cityscape from his time in Italy.

The striking 1976 oil on canvas ‘Cockenzie Madonna’, is estimated to fetch between £6,000 and £9,000, while a large oil featuring the picturesque harbour at Eyemouth in the Scottish Borders could fetch £8,000.

Meanwhile, the striking work, ‘Fisherwoman’, has an estimate of £5,000 to £8,000, with the large oil ‘Playing Cards of the Halibut’ estimated at £6,000 to £9,000. Moving away from the fishing scenes, Bellany’s watercolour, ‘Il Monumento ai Caduti, Seravezza, Lucca’ could fetch £1,500 to £2,500.

Commenting on the auction, McTear’s Director, Magda Ketterer, said: “Collector demand for the best examples of John Bellany’s work has never been higher, with several of the works on offer in our January sale showing the artist at the height of his powers. We are already seeing significant interest in the works and we expect to see this rise in the lead up to the auction.”

John Bellany has a huge international following, with his paintings hanging in a number of the world’s most prestigious galleries including The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Gallery of Modern art in New York, and the National Portrait Gallery and Tate in London.

His work is also admired by some of the world’s most respected artists, with Damien Hirst reportedly owning several of his paintings and praising Bellany as one of the major painters of the twentieth century.

In addition to the Bellany works, The Scottish Contemporary Art Auction on will feature almost 300 impressive lots by a number of renowned Scottish artists including Peter Howson paintings, John Lowrie Morrison, Gerard Burns, George Devlin, Alberto Morrocco, Stephen Conroy, Steven Campbell and Adrian Wiszniewski.

The Scottish Contemporary Art Auction will take place at our Glasgow Galleries on 30th January.