We advise clients on the sale and purchase of collections or single items, by auction or private treaty, we have advised on paintings, sculpture and furniture at auction in Amsterdam, Zurich, Geneva, Munich, Paris, Rome, Madrid, Marseilles, Copenhagen, Dublin, New York, Boston, California, Sydney, Hong Kong, London & Edinburgh and provincial salerooms throughout the UK. Below are just a few examples.
We advise through which saleroom and in which sale your items might sell best and for significant items we negotiate bespoke special terms and marketing packages.
Used as a doorstop in a country house in Essex & sold at The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) Maastricht
Attributed to Simone Bianco
An Idealised Female Portrait
Marble, 12.6 x 3.35in
This wonderful Italian Renaissance relief sculpture dating from around 1510, used as a doorstop in a country house in Essex, was attributed to the Venetian sculptor Simone Bianco (1512-53) by our consultants. We then sold it, through a specialist stand-holder, at TEFAF for a six-figure sum, to an Italian private collector.
Re-discovered unpublished George Orwell (Eric Blair) letters to his lover Elizabeth Jacques in Southwold, saved for The Orwell Archive at UCL
Art & Antiques Appraisals was engaged to sell this cache of letters re-discovered in Southwold, they were sold by private treaty, for a six-figure sum, to a private collector. Now published, they are on permanent loan to The Orwell Archive at UCL.
Californian ceramics prove popular
This valuable 1970s two-piece sculpture by Californian ceramicist Ken Price was sold privately to an American buyer, on behalf a London based collector.
Collection of significant 19th century European paintings sold in Zurich
On behalf of the estate of a London based collector, we consigned a small collection of 19th century European paintings, for a successful sale, to Koller Zürich, negotiating, reserves, special terms and the marketing strategy. This small work by Petrus van Schendel (1806-70) Junge Früchteverkäuferin bei Kerzenschein was among them.
Discovered in Suffolk & sold at The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF) Maastricht
Michelle Marieschi (Venice 1710-1743)
The Grand Canal with the Churches of San Simone Piccolo and the Scaltzi
Discovered when doing a routine insurance valuation for the Church of England, in Suffolk, by James Glennie & Nic Tyler (when insured for £1,000). We, with our specialist consultant, attributed it to the eighteenth century Venetian painter Michelle Marieschi (1710-43). We then sold it at TEFAF, on behalf of the church, for a substantial six-figure sum.
Re-discovered Alberto Giacometti chandelier sold for £2.92 million
Having had doubt cast about its authenticity by a leading museum, Art & Antiques Appraisals were engaged by the Estate of John Craxton to establish its provenance and genuineness. After months of research we successfully presented our evidence to the Fondation Alberto et Annette Giacometti in Paris, when it was re-named The Chandelier for Peter Watson and then wrote a paper establishing its place in the marketplace, after which it was subsequently sold through Christie’s. In light of its new-found significance the Export Review Committee placed a stop on in it, to provide the opportunity for the V&A to save it for the nation, however they were unable to do so. It is now in a private collection in Europe.
Debden Manor: An Architect’s Eye, A Collector’s Passion
Collectors Bobby & Virginia Chapman, when downsizing, asked our advice on the sale of their substantial and wide-ranging collection. We invited four salerooms to see the collection, tender their proposals and meet our clients. We negotiated the advertising and marketing strategy, advantageous commission rates etc. The result was a carefully curated sale of almost a thousand lots, reproducing the layout of the Debden Manor reception rooms in Sworders saleroom. Buyers from all over the world were attracted to the event, where a number of record prices were established.
Eugène Boudin Sold in Paris
Eugène Boudin
Bords de la Seine
Oil on canvas
Sold at Drouot, Paris on behalf of a UK collector.
World record at Goodwood Festival of Speed
Sold with Bonhams at The Goodwood Festival of Speed for a world record £2 million (hammer price).
Image: Bonhams
Record prices for academicians
The Barbara Holliday Collection
The contents of The Gale, Silloth, Cumbria comprising over 650 lots chiefly including a significant collection of late 20th paintings by Royal Academicians, antique furniture and jewellery. Removed from remote rural Cumbria for a single owner sale at Sworders where several artist record prices were set.
Success at home
John Sell Cotman
Salmon Spearing
Oil on canvas
We advised the executors of the late Sir Godfrey Milton-Thompson on the sale of his collection of East Anglian paintings, which involved removing them from his beloved Cornwall to East Anglia for sale, with a special viewing in Norfolk. Included was this lovely fishing scene by John Sell Cotman, originally in the collection of Sir Gavin Astor at Hever Castle, Kent.
Exhibited | British Council 100 Years of British Painting, Lisbon & Madrid 1949 | British Council English Landscapes, Paris 1953 | Agnew’s Loan Exhibition J Crome & J S Cotman, London 1958
Norfolk to Norway earns a world record
Gert Jynge
Interior with Figure
Oil on canvas
We arranged the consignment of a collection of Scandinavian pictures from Norfolk to Norway, where we achieved a world record for this work by Gert Jynge (1904-1994).
Sold to a Scandinavian institution to benefit RCA scholarship funds
Kurt Schwitters
Book (1947)
Collage
6 x 5in
This tiny but important collage – Book by Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948) – was donated to the Royal College of Art to benefit scholarship funds. Art & Antiques Appraisals were pleased to sell it for them privately, via an agent, for a six-figure sum, to a Scandinavian institution.
Image: Art & Antiques Appraisals
Pissarro sold in Paris to an American collector
Camille Pissarro
Effet de Niege à Osny
Oil on canvas
This delightful snow scene was sold privately, for a six-figure sum through a Parisian agent to an American collector on behalf of an English collector.
Important Australian painting sold to an Australian pension fund
This wonderful work by leading Australian painter Arthur Boyd (1920-99), in which you can feel the heat coming off the hills in northern New South Wales, was sold on behalf of the estate of a British collector, to an Australian Pension Fund.
Image: Ken Adlard, New Moon Photography
Oskar Kokoschka goes home to Vienna
Art & Antiques Appraisals represents the family collection of caricaturist Fritz Josefovics (later Fred Joss). This evocative portrait of his German Expressionist friend Oskar Kokoschka, who like him fled Vienna in the 1930s, was sold privately to a prominent collector based in Vienna.
Image: Art & Antiques Appraisals
Eric Ravilious watercolour goes to a public collection with help from the Art Fund
This significant watercolour Caravans (1936) by war artist Eric Ravilious, was sold by private treaty to The Fry Gallery in Saffron Walden who collect his work, the purchase was made possible by a substantial grant from The Art Fund.
Image: Art & Antiques Appraisals
Almost abstract Cretan gorge by John Craxton finds private buyer
In 2022 Art & Antiques Appraisals curated the only public exhibition in the UK celebrating Craxton’s centenary Craxton-Picasso (there were other centenary shows in Athens, Crete and Istanbul). This intriguing work from his Gorge series was one of the key works in the show, which we had sold privately, 15 years ago, for the estate of a British collector to another British collector. It was subsequently included in Ian Collins’ monograph and exhibited in the Fitzwilliam Museum retrospective in 2013/4.
German expressionist helps RCA scholarship fund
Max Ernst
Les Oiseaux Bleus (1959)
Oil and panel, 15.5 x 12.5in, signed & dated
This very striking painting Les Oiseaux Bleus by Max Ernst (1889-1949) was donated to the Royal College of Art to benefit scholarship funds. Art & Antiques Appraisals were pleased to sell it for them privately, via an agent, for a six-figure sum, to a Scottish Collector.
Drawing by seminal French artist Henri Matisse benefits RCA scholarship fund
Henri Matisse
Femme au Chapeau
Pen and Indian ink
20.5 x 15.75in, signed & dated
This moody drawing by Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was donated to the Royal College of Art to benefit scholarship funds. Art & Antiques Appraisals were pleased to sell it for them privately, via an agent, for a six-figure sum.
Norfolk paintings provide funding for the Assembly House Trust and its role facilitating an arts programme for Norfolk
One of three early works by Sir Alfred Munnings, sold privately through Art & Antiques Appraisals, for a substantial six-figure sum, on behalf of one of Norwich’s leading Arts Charities. In 2016 Art & Antiques Appraisals curated an exhibition of early works Munnings Before the Great War, displaying works from private collections augmented by those from The Castle Museum, Norwich and The Munnings Museum, Dedham, Essex.
Image: Art & Antiques Appraisals
Pop artists’ acrobats raise money for Royal College of Music scholarship programme
This early Sumi ink (1982) untitled work by American graffiti artist Keith Haring (1958-90), who helped re-define the boundaries of modern art in the 1980s, was sold privately, by Art & Antiques Appraisals via an agent, for a six-figure sum, to a Swiss collector, to raise funds for the scholarship programme at the Royal College of Music, London.
Early Nicholson from Jim Ede’s collection finds new home
This wonderful just post-war still life by Ben Nicholson, formerly in Jim Ede’s collection, was sold to a private collector on behalf of a London based client.
Angela Verren Taunt
Country house sale in Norfolk
Art & Antiques Appraisals selected Lyon & Turnbull as auctioneers and negotiated special terms and the marketing package for the vendors.
Snow scene by Suffolk artist makes Sotheby’s front cover
This attractive painting titled Snow Shadows (detail) and dated 1930, by Suffolk born artist Thomas Wood (1887-1958) was bought on behalf of a private collector.
Rare work by Alan Beeton comes on the market and was quickly acquired for a private collector
Works by the wonderful artist Alan Beeton (1880-1940) rarely come on the market, this amazing portrait was quickly snapped-up on behalf of a private collector, when it appeared in the window of the Fine Art Society in London. Art & antiques Appraisals negotiated a special price for the buyer. Alan Beeton, although little known these days, was very highly regarded in artistic circles in the 1930s, his work being in Tate Britain, The Fitzwilliam, The Hunterian and several provincial museums. He famously painted a series of portraits of his mannequin in a variety of poses, which were central to the Fitzwilliam’s exhibition Silent Partners, Musée Bourdelle’s (Paris) show Mannequin d’Artiste, Mannequin Fétiche and the Holt Festival exhibition Models & Muses, the latter curated by Art & Antiques Appraisals.
Lady Eliza Fitzroy by Sir Thomas Lawrence P.R.A., perhaps the greatest 18th century portraitist
Sir Thomas Lawrence PRA FRS
Portrait of Lady Eliza Fitzroy
Oil on canvas, 91 x 71cm
Self-taught, Thomas Lawrence was a brilliant draughtsman and known for his gift of capturing a likeness, as well as his virtuoso handling of paint. He became an associate of the Royal Academy in 1791, a full member in 1794, and president in 1820. In 1810 he acquired the generous patronage of the Prince Regent, was sent abroad to paint portraits of allied leaders for the Waterloo chamber at Windsor Castle, and is particularly remembered as the Romantic portraitist of the Regency. Lawrence’s love affairs were not happy (his tortuous relationships with Sally and Maria Siddons became the subject of several books) and, in spite of his success, he spent most of life deep in debt. He never married. At his death, Lawrence was the most fashionable portrait painter in Europe.
Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830) was the fourth President of the Royal Academy, chosen for his wonderful ability as a portraitist. This delicate portrait was sold by private treaty to a private collector.
South Sea pearl, set with diamonds in white gold finds new home
This beautiful cultured pearl, over 15mm in diameter, set with diamonds in white gold, was sold privately for a UK collector.
Lavery portrait of heiress the Hon. Mrs Cunningham-Reid who was famously married to WWI flying ace
Sir John Lavery RA
Portrait of the Honourable Mrs Cunningham-Reid 1930
Oil on canvas, signed
Mrs Cunningham Reid (Hon Ruth Mary Clarisse Ashley) was daughter of multi-millionaire Lt-Col Wilfred Ashley (1st Baron Mount Temple) and sister of Edwina, Countess Mountbatten. She married the WWI flying ace, Captain Alec Cunningham-Reid in 1927. The couple later divorced and he sued her for half her fortune in 1930.
Born in Belfast Lavery studied at the Haldene Academy in Glasgow and in Paris at the Academie Julian. Influenced by Bastien-Lepage, he worked in the painters’ colony at Grèz-sur-Loing. On his return to Scotland he became one of the leaders of the Glasgow School. In 1912 he was commissioned to pint the Royal Family for the National Portrait Gallery. He was knighted in 1918 and became one of the great British Impressionist society portrait interior painters.
This great likeness from 1930 was sold privately on behalf of a Suffolk charity.
Early 17th century view of Palazzo Reale, Naples finds Italian buyer
This Baroque Neapolitan view attributed to the circle of the Flemish painter Sebastian Vranx (1573-1647), was conserved and sold privately, via an agent, to an Italian buyer.
Lynn Chadwick bronze candlesticks go to private contemporary collection
Sold on behalf of the estate of a prominent private collector, these distinctive candlesticks are now in another private contemporary collection.
Bought for an English collector at auction in Marseilles
One of a pair of Boomerang chairs by Danish designers Peter Hvidt & Orla Mølgard Nielson, bought for an English collector in Marseilles.
Rare Mystery Clock by Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin, sold privately for Edinburgh based client
Mysterious because the hands don’t appear to be connected to the movement, this mid-19th century example by the French conjuror and clockmaker Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin, was sold by private-treaty for an Edinburgh based client.
Striking carpet designed by Sonia Delaunay
Pierrot Lunaire after a Delaunay design from 1925, sold for the estate of a prominent private collector.
Peter Blake portrait of Ted Power ‘one of the great collectors of post-war international art’ (TATE)
Bought for a private collection at the Leslie Waddington sale at Christie’s.
Wadsworth gouache Slipways among his best
Edward Wadsworth
Slipways c.1926
Tempera, 38 x 53cm
Wadsworth was with one of the most successful art school groups ever at The Slade, Mark Gertler, Stanley Spencer, CRW Nevinson, William Roberts and Dora Carrington were among his contemporaries. His tutors were Henry Tonks and Philip Wilson Steer and he was taught art history by Roger Fry.
Interior by Walter Gay (1856-97) bought at auction in New York, for a Massachusetts based American collector
A private collector in Massachusetts, seeking a classic opulent interior scene by local American artist Walter Gay (1856-97), asked Art & Antiques Appraisals to find a suitable painting. Having sent images of a number of works coming on to the market, we reviewed the condition reports and bought this one at auction in New York and helped arrange the paintings carriage back to Massachusetts where it was painted.
Image: Bonhams, New York
A Pair of Qianlong Chocolate-Brown-Glazed Dishes
Chinese (1736-1795)
Six character underglaze blue seal marks of the period, with bracketed rims, glazed overall.
Sold by private treaty from an Essex based collection, by Art & Antiques.
Window design attributed to Pre-Raphaelite Ford Maddox Brown (1821-93) sells privately
This church window design for Morris & Co was eventually installed, not in Oakley Church – for where it was intended, but the church in the nearby village of Ugley in Essex. The drawing was sold privately by Art & Antiques Appraisals.
Francis Bacon & his lover George Dyer on the Orient Express to Athens, 1965
This rare gelatin silver print by John Deakin (1912-72) was bought at Christie’s (£11,250 inc. premium) on behalf of an important archive.
Image: Christie’s Images / Bridgeman Images