Echo and Narcissus, a 2ft 6in x 22in (77 x 56cm) oil on canvas of a semi-nude nymph beside the figure of a kneeling man, came from a local deceased estate.
On the day, bids in the room, online and on the phone, pushed the sum to £8800, almost nine times the top guide. The winning bidder was an anonymous buyer on the phone.
Appealing work
Lucy Homer, auctioneer at Henry Adams, described the subject matter as “particularly appealing”.
She added: “The artist’s work does not regularly appear on the secondary market, particularly figurative works – this, along with the current art market reassessment of female artists, could be seen as contributing factors to the amount the painting achieved.”
Born in Bhagulpur in India, Ince studied in London before working as a land girl during the latter part of the First World War. After the war she painted landscapes, portraits and flower subjects, working in watercolour, oil and tempera.
