Munnings Sketch Sells for £80,000

An exquisitely energetic small-scale sketch by the masterly Sir Alfred Munnings, sold for £80,000 in Tennants Auctioneers’ British, European and Sporting Art Sale on 13^th July (all figures exclude buyer’s premium).  “Lord Astor on Shooting Stick with Horses” is a sketch for “A Summer Evening at Cliveden, Waldorf Astor, Second Viscount Astor (1879-1952), seated”, which is held in the Cliveden Estate Collection in Buckinghamshire, now managed by the National Trust. William Waldorf, 2nd Viscount Astor, was one of the greatest owner/breeders of his day, and greatly admired by Munnings. The pair felt a deep kinship, both being at their happiest surrounded by horses. In the present sketch, Astor and his trainer Mr William Guy inspect a parade of mares and foals being led past on a gloriously sunlit evening at Cliveden. From the same private collection was a watercolour by Munnings; “In the Woods Near Noyon 1918 Attack. Our Retreat” was executed whilst the artist was serving in the First World War with the Canadian Cavalry (sold for £5,200).

A charming portrait sketch by the renowned George Romney, which had been in the same family collection since it was painted, sold for £18,000. The sketch depicted Caesar Hawkins and is thought to have been executed in preparation for a full-length portrait of Caesar, his sister Louisa Anne, and their mother Emma Hawkins (née Adair), which was once in the collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Art. Amongst Romney’s extant studio records are references to the family's appointments and sittings with the artist, and this painting represented a wonderful insight into the creative process of one of Britain's most important 18th century portrait painters. 

The sale boasted a good range of period portraits, all of which performed well, but were topped by a work by celebrated society portrait painter Philip Alexius de László.  Portrait of Admiral Sir Hedworth Meux demonstrated the artist's characteristically liberal application of paint, which imbued the sitter with a natural and engaging presence (sold for £8,000).  Strong interest was also seen for a pair of small oval portraits catalogued as by a Follower of Kneller, which secured a comment worthy hammer price of £4,500, possibly due to their more intimate scale and appealing presentation. 

A small group of works by the Scottish artist William Miller Frazer all performed well, too, with the highest price being secured for his On the River Tyne that sold for £1,200, and which embodied much of the atmosphere and lively brushwork for which the artist is known for. A further tranche of works by the artist from the same private collection will be offered in Tennants’ Country House Sale on 14th September. 

Further notable prices were achieved for the highly naturalistic rendition of an otter by the sculptor Hamish Mackie, which sold for £3,000, and within the watercolour and works on paper section one of the highlights was the charming and fresh Self Portrait on Iona by Frances Campbell Boileau Cadell (sold for £7,000).  

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