Watercolours

Sketches at the Time of the Commencement of British Intercourse with Japan, an album containing 76 watercolours and drawings and 126 wood engravings from the last days of the Edo period, sold for £16,000 at Dominic Winter (22% buyer’s premium).

Many works by the great British artist are now owned by institutions but smaller paintings and sketches are common sights at salerooms

Artist survived a shipwreck but then spent a decade creating portraits and views of the local landscape

Nicholas Bowlby was a dealer of the old school, a character of great warmth and wit, naturally inquisitive with an eclectic taste that ran from early watercolours to contemporary abstracts.

Latest sales suggest a wider collector base targeting history and topography

Result for album of watercolours underlines the current demand in salerooms for such subjects

A watercolour of a dandelion attributed to Beatrix Potter estimated at £200-300 ended up selling at a hammer price of £2600.

Star lot of a section of a recent Neumeister’s (30/27/25% buyer’s premium) auction in Munich devoted to the legacy of Alexander Eugen, Duke of Württemberg, who died last year at the age of 91, was literally one of the eyecatchers.

Guy Peppiatt has produced a new catalogue which is a combined effort with Emma Rutherford: the first time the two dealers have collaborated in this way, though they have worked together in the past.

If Knox is best known today for his work with Liberty & Co, in his own time on the Isle of Man he was better recognised as an art teacher and for his study of the local Celtic crosses and standing stones.

The Brontë Parsonage was the successful bidder at £32,000 (plus premium) when an original watercolour drawing by Emily Brontë came for sale in London.

As readers may recall from previous articles on these pages, when it comes to the works of the great ornithological artist Archibald Thorburn (1860-1935) depictions of game birds tend to be the most commercial subjects.