Offered in a sale on April 4, the 10 x 14½in (26 x 37cm) watercolour was painted by Alfred Heaton Cooper (1863-1929), a student of George Clausen, the 19th century painter of pheasant landscapes, who was inspired by Post-Impressionism and followed in the footsteps of JMW Turner and John Ruskin.
Depicting the dramatic sunlit ruins of the monastery, which was founded on Holy Island in c.634, the drawing drew multiple bids against a £50-80 guide and was eventually knocked down at £1000.
This is not the first time Cooper’s work has exceeded expectations at auction. At Exeter saleroom Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood in April 2015, two watercolours of the Lake District – the spot where the artist lived for many years – made £2500 and £1700 against estimates of a few hundred pounds each.
