Five records for "An Exceptional Eye: A Private British Collection" sale @ Sotheby's

16 juillet 2010

Five records for "An Exceptional Eye: A Private British Collection" sale @ Sotheby's

John Robert Cozens (1752 - 1797), The Lake of Albano and Castel Gandolfo. photo Sotheby's

watercolour over pencil, 43.3 by 62 cm.; 17 by 24 1/2 in. Est. 500,000—700,000 GBP. Lot Sold 2,393,250 GBP to Private Collector. RECORD FOR THE ARTIST AT AUCTION.

Commenting on the sale, Emmeline Hallmark, Head of British Paintings and Watercolours at Sotheby’s, said: “The very successful result of this sale is a wonderful testimony not only to the discerning eye of this extraordinary collector, but also to Henry Wemyss (1956‐2010), Head of the British Watercolour department at Sotheby’s from 1983 until 2009, who advised the collector and was responsible for many of the works included in this sale entering his collection. The total of £6,698,589, over the pre‐sale high estimate of £5,920,850, demonstrates how works of the highest quality, rarely seen on the market, command exceptional competition at auction. 57.5% of works sold achieved prices above the high estimate and we saw extremely strong sold by lot and sold by value rates of 83% and 89%.

The top lot was the Cozens watercolour and the price achieved of £2,393,250 establishes a record for the artist by a wide margin. In 1991 the same work achieved a then record price of £195,800. Cozens has clearly caught up with his star follower Turner, and the £2.4m paid is also the highest price for an eighteenth century British watercolour at auction. A comparable example can be seen in the record price brought by the Francis Towne (lot 62, £289,250) when in 1999 the same watercolour made a then record price for the artist of £84,000. The appreciation of these academic works from one of the finest collections of its kind to have come to the market in recent memory was visible across the board, with global institutional and private bidders competing against each other..."

Joseph Mallord William Turner R.A. (1775-1851), Coastal view at sunset with fishing boat returning to port. photo Sotheby's

Watercolour over pencil, 19.2 by 27.4 cm.; 7 1/2 by 10 3/4 in. Est. 300,000—500,000 GBP. Lot Sold 433,250 GBP to a Private Collector.

Francis Towne (1740-1816), Lake of Albano, Morning Sun rising over Rocca. photo Sotheby's

Pen and black ink with watercolour over pencil, 31 by 46 cm.; 12 by 18 in. Est. 80,000—120,000 GBP. Lot Sold 289,250 GBP to a Private Collector. RECORD FOR THE ARTIST AT AUCTION.

Joseph Wright of Derby (1734 - 1797), Study of a boy reading. photo Sotheby's

Black and white chalk, 42 by 28 cm.; 16 1/2 by 11 in. Est. 200,000—300,000 GBP. Lot Sold 313,250 GBP to an European Trade.

Thomas Girtin (1775 - 1802), Durham Cathedral and Castle. photo Sotheby's

Watercolour over pencil, 37.5 by 49.5 cm.; 14 3/4 by 19 1/4 in. Est. 200,000—300,000 GBP Lot Sold 265,250 GBP to an Anonymous.

Thomas Jones (1742 - 1803), The Grotto of Egeria, near Rome. photo Sotheby's

Watercolour over pencil with pen and brown ink and gum arabic,

27.5 by 40.5 cm.; 10 3/4 by 16 in. Est. 80,000—120,000 GBP Lot Sold 229,250 GBP to a Private Collector.

Richard Wilson (1714-1782), The Villa Borghese, Rome. photo Sotheby's

Pencil, black chalk and stump heightened with white, 28 by 42 cm.; 11 by 16 1/2 in. Est. 100,000—200,000 GBP Lot Sold 109,250 GBP to a Private Collector. RECORD FOR A WORK ON PAPER BY THE ARTIST AT AUCTION

"... The portrait miniatures performed particularly well, with a very high price achieved for an early work by John Smart (lot 17, £56,450), and a record for a work by Bernard Lens (lot 10, Portrait of King Charles I, sold for £58,850). The results of this sale brings Sotheby’s total for British watercolour and drawings sold in July 2010 to £6,943,513...."

Nicholas Hilliard (c. 1547-1619), Portrait of a noblewoman, possibly Lettice Knollys (1539‐1634). photo Sotheby's

Watercolour with gold and silver on vellum, 5.5 by 4.5 cm.; 2 1/8 by 1 3/4 in. Est. 100,000—150,000 GBP Lot Sold 121,250 GBP to an European Private.

John Smart (1742-1811), Portrait of Gilbert Ford, Attorney-General of Jamaica (d. 1767). photo Sotheby's

3.1 by 2.7 cm.; 1 1/4 by 1 1/8 in. Est. 20,000—30,000 GBP Lot Sold 56,450 GBP.

Bernard Lens (1682-1740), Portrait of King Charles I of England and Scotland (1600-1649). photo Sotheby's

7 by 5 cm.; 2 ¾ by 2 in. Est. 10,000—15,000 GBP. Lot Sold 58,850 GBP. RECORD FOR THE ARTIST AT AUCTION.

"... The Regency world of the collector extended to fine examples of furniture and sculpture, and several examples feature in the top ten prices achieved, once more a fitting testimony to the exacting standards applied to the acquisition of each of these items.”