Watercolours

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.

Among the watercolours attracting interest at the earlier part of the year were four works by Lucy Elizabeth Kemp-Welch (1869-1958) that appeared at Lincoln saleroom Golding Young & Mawer (24% buyer’s premium).

A gold and enamel Dent pocket watch given by Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, to the Italian opera singer Giuseppina Grassini surfaced for sale at an auction in Austria

The fashion for eye miniatures – or lover’s eyes – is said to have begun with a politically and socially unacceptable royal affair.