A sun-drenched work by British Impressionist painter Dorothea Sharp sold for £44,000 (all figures exclude buyer’s premium) in Tennants Auctioneers’ British, European and Sporting Art Sale on 16th November. The work, Paddling in the Shallows, probably Bosham, is similar in composition and theme to works held in the Mansion House, Cardiff, and Gallery Oldham. Dorothea Sharp (1874-1955) captured the joys of childhood, and the beauty of everyday moments in her vibrant coastal scenes.
Two works by Louis H Grimshaw (1870-1943), consigned from a private collection, also sold well, with “An Autumn Sunset” selling for £13,000, and “Moonrise on the Tyne” selling for £19,000. The son of the acclaimed artist John Atkinson Grimshaw, Leeds-born Louis Grimshaw followed in his father’s footsteps to create beautifully detailed street scenes, often moonlit. Indeed, the father and son would often collaborate, with Louis painting the figures into his father’s street scenes.
Further notable results were achieved for “Failing Memories” by Charles Spencelayh (1865-1958), which sold for £16,000, and The Toy Boat by Giovanni Battista Torriglia (1858-1937), which sold for £14,000. Selling well above estimate, too, were a charming watercolour of A Morning Ride by Frederick Whiting (1873/4-1962), which sold for £2,200, and a pair of atmospheric landscapes by Alfred de Breanski Snr (1852-1928), “Nr Arrochar” and “Inversnaid” sold for £6,500. Portraiture was well represented in the sale with a fine 18th century European School Portrait of an Elegant Lady selling for £8,000, and a 17th/18th century Dutch School Portrait of a Lady selling for £3,000.
Amongst the Sporting Art in the sale, top prices were achieved for “Cooper with Bluecap and Wanton, 1767” by Francis Sartorius (1734-1804), which had provenance from Marbury Hall (sold for £5,500), Leaping Salmon by Henry Leonidas Rolfe (fl.1847-1881) (sold for £2,500), “Hounds and Game” by John Sargent Noble (1848-1896) (sold for £2,800), and European Hobby Resting on a Branch by George Edward Lodge (1860-1954) (sold for £1,300).
The sale realised a total hammer price of £204,850 for the 93 lots, and an 80% sold rate.
