A major collection of pitmen paintings are expected to sell for a combined total of £35,000 ($53,372) in a sale at Anderson & Garland in Newcastle on January 20.

The collection comprises major works by the Ashington group (aka the pitmen painters)

Miners in the Spennymoore Settlement, County Durham produced the paintings from 1930 onwards. Ivan Geffen, a lawyer who worked on their behalf during the 1950s, acquired the present collection over a number of years.

Anderson & Garland's John Anderson told the ChronicleLive: "This is a extraordinary collection by Mr Geffen, who was really interested in art and was attracted by the work of the settlement."

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