Terrick John Williams painting sets £144,000 World Record

The top lot at yesterday's (April 22) 19th Century Paintings auction at Bonhams was Evening - Concarneau by Terrick John Williams, sold for £144,000.

The remarkable sale was more than six times the previous World Record for the artist at auction. 

Williams painted several views of this harbour, with this work being an excellent example of his early, large-scale scenes.

Elsewhere, a female figure study by John Constable with a hidden history sold for four times it pre-sale estimate to make £24,000.

A cutting from the Times of 1972 recounts how the drawing was discovered in the Ridley Colbourne album after it was bought by William Darby. 


Evening - Concarneau by Terrick John Williams, sold for £144,000

 

When Darby was looking through the album, the previously hidden drawing came to light hidden underneath an invitation to a Royal Academy dinner. 

He suspected that the drawing may have been covered up by a previous Victorian owner of the album because of its 'sensitive' nude subject matter. 

The work was discovered by a Bonhams specialist at a valuation day in Cornwall, and was estimated to fetch £4,000-6,000.

And an interesting Portrait of a Gentleman with an unknown identity by George Dawe (British 1781-1829) was the subject of fiercely competitive bidding,

Incredibly, it finally sold for £43,200 against a pre-sale estimate of just £4,000-6,000.

"We were delighted with the sale today," said Chris O'Brien, Bonhams' Department Head.

"Results were exceptional and prove that the market is still extremely buoyant for good traditional works."

 

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