04/12/2001
by Luisa Vassallo

The end of November saw the British and Irish art sales in London, with Sotheby’s taking the lead and booking a total of $ 25,798,110 (€ 28,912,370) from their two sales, while Christie’s only managed to raise $ 8,395,330 (€ 9,411,760) from their three sales. The results confirmed a selective demand for top quality works of art and showed that there is a shortage of supply on the art market.

Christie’s kicked off on the 28^th of November with the Important British & Irish Art sale which included Works from The De Morgan Foundation. The auction, which sold 64% by lot for a total of $ 6,620,500 (€ 7,434,310), included a version of the symbolist Beata Beatrix by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, heavily marketed and presented as "arguably the most famous of all Pre-Raphaelite images" carrying a hefty estimate of $ 2,133,980-3,556,640 (€ 2,391,470-3,985,780). Disappointing pre-sale expectations, the work failed to awaken the interest of the buyers and remained unsold, not helped by the fact that it is a pastel executed on two joined sheets, thought by some dealers to be a studio work. The top lot of the evening was James Jaques Tissot’s The Hammock. This signed oil on canvas (127 x 76.2 cm) was on the market for the second time in two years and eventually sold to a private collector from the UK for $ 1,880,830 (€ 2,111,260), within its estimate of $ 1,704,860-2,557,280 (€ 1,913,760-2,870,840). Nine of the eleven works offered by The De Morgan Foundation to help fund the new gallery and study centre were sold, including seven of the nine mythological and allegorical works by Spencer Stanhope (painter Evelyn De Morgan’s uncle), for a total of $ 1,848,270 (€ 2,075,630), far short of the forecast $ 2,843,700-4,265,470 (€ 3,198,050-4,796,650).

The following day Sotheby’s staged two sales that sold 63% and 54% respectively by lot. The auction raised a total of $ 25,798,110 (€ 28,912,370), although more than half of that came from one painting alone that sold for an impressive $ 14,711,000 (€ 16,525,300). Sir Joshua Reynolds’ classical yet romantic Portrait of Omai, the Tahitian youth introduced to London’s finest society by Sir Joseph Banks, is considered one of Reynolds’ best works. It remained in the painter’s own collection until his death when it was bought by the Earl of Carlisle for Castle Howard, North Yorkshire, where it has hung ever since. This large oil on canvas (228.6 x 144.8 cm) was fought over by two bidders in the sale room before eventually beating its considerable estimate of $ 8,537,120-11,382,740 (€ 9,593,270-12,790,380) and selling to the London dealer Guy Morrison, who confirmed that he does not have a guaranteed buyer for the work yet. The sale secured a new world auction record for the artist and is the most expensive painting sold in London to date so far this year. The previous auction record for a Reynolds was The Archers, sold by Christie’s London on the 14^th of June 2000 for $ 2,277,300 (€ 2,558,230). Another big sale was the $ 2,901,900 (€ 3,559,280) paid by an anonymous telephone bidder for John William Waterhouse’s Ophelia, beating off John Schaeffer, one of the most renowned collectors of Victorian pictures.

Christie’s closed the London British art sales on the 30^th of November with their British Pictures 1500-1850 and Victorian Pictures auctions. The first sale raised a total of $ 880,620 (€ 988,310), with a sale rate of 64%. The top lot was Thomas Gainsborough’s elegant Portrait of Miss Elisabeth Edgar (oil on canvas, 76.2 x 63.5 cm), one of several painted by the artist of the Edgar family during stay in Ipswich. The painting remained in the sitter’s family until 1898 and had not been seen on the market till now, making it particularly appealing to buyers. Presented with a conservative estimate of $ 28,450-42,690 (€ 31,950-47,920), the work finally sold for $ 114,900 (€ 128,970), more than doubling its high-end estimate. The Victorian Pictures sale sold 50% by lot, raising a total of $ 886,120 (€ 994,610). The only notable success was obtained by Prince’s Dock, Hull by John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893), that fetched $ 102,320 (€ 114,840) more than doubling its low-end estimate. Only six paintings sold above the $ 30,000 (€ 33,690) confirming that buyers are not willing to invest in run of the mill works.

The London British art sales pointed to a very discerning market interested in high quality pieces, particularly those with solid provenance, but not keen on pictures of more mediocre quality. At present, the majority of top quality British paintings are hanging in museums, leaving very few primary works for trade on the art market.

Still to come is Bonams’ sale of Fine Irish Pictures that will be auctioned by James Adam Auctioneers in Dublin, Ireland, on the 5^th of December 2001. On offer will be a selection of 19^th Century and modern Irish paintings, including In the Garden, Castlewood Avenue by Walter Osborne (1859-1903) carrying an estimate of $ 340,250-453,660 (€ 380,920-507,900). After a series of works going unsold in recent years, some of the artist’s work performed well earlier on in the year, with his signed and dated Rue St Sebastian; a Narrow Street, Quimperle’ being sold by Chritie’s, London on the 17^th of May for $ 135,870 (€ 152,250) within its estimate of $ 99,540-142,210 (€ 111,530-159,340). Also on sale, two works by Roderic O’Conor (1860-1940) that are expected to fetch between $ 136,100 (€ 152,370) and $ 249,510 (€ 279,340) each.