The collection of connoisseur dealer Andrew Wyld saw its John Constable painting achieve yet another superb result yesterday (July 10), as fevered bidding for the British artist's finest works continues. 

A strong sale for Constable that fuels the 5.4% increase for old master works

Storm Clouds over Hampstead achieved a 104.6% increase on its £200,000 high estimate, selling at £409,250 ($634,338). The price secured the title of top lot in the auction for the work.

The sale comes following Christie's sale of The Lock, which beat the former world record for a Constable work at auction by 3.38% on July 3. Since then, any Constable piece to appear at auction has crushed its estimate, with bidders eager to own a piece of the artist's stunning body of work. This is perfectly exemplified by his sketch of Ham House, which sold at Bonhams today (July 11) for £27,500 - an 83.3% increase on its £15,000 high valuation.

Following the Constable sale, another Royal Academy entrant, Thomas Gainsborough, saw his sketch, A Clump of Trees, achieve a very impressive 635.6% increase on estimate. With a pre-sale valuation of just £8,000, the sketch soared to £58,850, proving the current power of old masters at auction.

The respected Mei Moses Index reported a 5.4% rise in value for old master and 19th century artworks in the first half of 2012, the highest of any sector. With just a reported 8% of the world's leading art buyers collecting old master works, that's a truly remarkable figure.

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