Chorley’s are delighted to be offering a good collection of Old Master and British pictures in their sale on Thursday 10th December 2009.
11 paintings come from Penarth in South Wales. They belonged to the late Millicent Hope Bovey wh had inherited a very large collection of Old Master and British Paintings from the estate of Mr R W Pettigrew. Pettigrew had moved to Wales from Ireland in the early 20th century and, unknown to all but his nearest kin, he had amassed a collection of 500 or so paintings.
On his death in 1929 a number of these were sent to Christie, Manson and Woods for sale. As the South Wales Evening Express reported at the time, “Welsh Mystery Treasure House”….”House Full of Old Masters at Penarth”….”Pictures Worth Thousands found after Connoissuer’s Death”….The hoard filled the house and every available room, attic, cupboard and chest were full of works by artists such as Rubens, Rembrandt, Canaletto, Cuyp, Tinteretto and many others, while Mr & Mrs Pettigrew lived in just two rooms. 1929 was not a great year for the art market, or any other market for that matter, but this collection caused a stir and realised very high prices. Miss Bovey inherited the remainder of the collection and sold a number of pictures to enable her to go on luxury cruises and other exotic travels; the rest she kept until her death.
A number of the paintings from Miss Bovey’s estate will be offered for sale, including works attributed to Frans Snyders, Pieter van Bloemen, Boneventura Peeters, Osias Beert, Nicholas Condy and a miniature of a Tudor lady, believed to be Anne of Cleves.
Also in the sale, from other collections, is a fine portrait attributed to James Northcote, a watercolour of Venice by Samuel Prout, prints by W L Wyllie and many others.
www.simonchorley.com