Watercolours

Fine examples of John Sell Cotman’s (1782-1842) draftsmanship appeared at separate auctions in the south of England.

Found among the contents of a storage unit, a watercolour of Venice by Edward Lear (1812-88) starred in Brighton General Auctions’ (15% buyer’s premium) sale on July 28.

A scarce collection of watercolours by Biggles creator WE Johns (1893-1968) sold beyond expectations in Sworders’ (22% buyer’s premium) June 27 sale in Stansted Mountfitchet.

Karen Taylor Fine Art’s exhibition of British drawings, watercolours and oils takes place from 30 June-July 7 at Illustrationcupboard Gallery in St James’s.

Forget Michael Jackson and Madonna: this summer Timothy Millett and Claudia Hill are the king and queen of pop. Taking into account, that is, the title of their upcoming exhibition, 'POP: Portraits and Objects from the Past'.

Watercolours by the polar explorer Apsley Cherry-Garrard (1886-1959) were discovered among thousands of works from Stanley Studios in Chelsea.

Before the poet Edward Lear sent the owl and the pussycat out to sea in a beautiful pea green boat in his 1867 poem, he combined them in this c.1846 watercolour.

More than 130 original artworks by the artist, sometimes savage political cartoonist and stage designer, Gerald Scarfe, were offered by Sotheby’s (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium) on April 5.

From Arthur Rackham to Gerald Scarfe, there is a burgeoning market for original illustration art of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The name of William Heath Robinson (1872-1944) is enshrined in the Oxford English Dictionary. Definition: “Ingeniously or ridiculously over-complicated in design or construction”.

Nearly a quarter of the sale total at the auction held by Harry Moore-Gwyn at 25 Blythe Road (20% buyer’s premium) in West Kensington on April 5 came from a collection of original cartoons.

An intriguing 18th century watercolour of a tree struck by lightning fetched a multi-estimate sum at Forum Auctions’ (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) March 30 sale in London.

A trio of watercolours painted by British topographical artist Frank Dillon (1823-1909) were among the highlights of Diamond Mills’ (15% buyer’s premium) March 8 sale in Felixstowe, Suffolk.

Private works on a European theme yield strong prices in Cambridgeshire sale...