Art Market

A deceased estate in Dorset that yielded a notable collection of Old Masters provided a fillip to Lawrences (25% buyer’s premium) of Crewkerne’s latest mixed-category auction.

Collection of banker and financier with a bohemian streak included an eclectic mix of pictures

In terms of Modern British pictures sold around the country over the last year, a number of highlights came late in the day.

Among the portraits bringing demand at the latest series of Old Master auctions in London was a pair of works depicting young women by Johann Zoffany (1733-1810).

Consignments have been thin on the ground but various lots attracted significant sums at the recent London series

These days it’s not unusual to see works that are not technically Old Masters appearing in Old Master auctions.

End of year highlights included specialist collection amassed by couple who were both renowned experts

Two sales in London offered personal collection of the Hobarts including artists they had championed

Portrait of artist's wife stands out among works by more famous names in Salisbury saleroom

A group of seven mountainous landscapes by Hilda Marion Hechle (1886-1939) were the subject of a good deal of interest at a recent sale at Great Western Auctions (24% buyer’s premium) in Glasgow.

Pair of scarce oils by an artist more familiar as a watercolourist emerge at auction in Essex

A bust-length study, thought to be a self-portrait by Mary Beale (1633-99) from the early 1660s, sold above estimate at a recent sale at Parker Fine Art Auctions (25% buyer’s premium).

Son of the famous John Atkinson Grimshaw under focus with two of his own works in the same style

More pieces appear from a collection that survived a couple of devastating blazes at the family home

Pictures by the Dutch artist Henriette Ronner-Knip (1821- 1909) are pretty abundant on the market but the considerable popularity of her characterful feline studies means they are invariably a valuable proposition.