The July auction of 19th Century Paintings, Drawings and Watercolors saw some excellent prices across the sale, with a total of £2.1 million, and a selling rate of 70%.
Among the highlights were a world-record £289,000 for Philip Hermogenes Calderon’s iconic image, “Captain of the eleven,” a wonderful depiction of Victorian childhood.
Bonhams continues to dominate the market for Archibald Thorburn, achieving £193,000 for his magnificent watercolor “Blackcock in flight.” We now hold four of the top five world auction records for the artist.
Orientalist Art was well represented in the sale, with strong prices achieved for works by Rudolf Ernst (£145,000), Anders Zorn (£103,000) and Otto Pilny (£66,000) among others. Among other highlights were strong prices for works by Louis Grimshaw, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Clarke Wontner and Heywood Hardy.
The Department is currently collecting for its next auction of 19th Century Paintings, on Wednesday 23rd January.
