Bedroom window, Carmarthen by John Piper, £19,000 at Chiswick Auctions.
A signed watercolour by John Piper (1903-92) was among the works drawing interest across the 149 lots.
Bedroom window, Carmarthen, a 21in x 2ft 3in (53 x 70cm) watercolour, gouache, chalk, ink and wash had intriguing composition even though the themes and style were highly familiar to followers of the Epsom-born artist.
Piper, who worked in a wide variety of media, had a deep interest in churches and architecture and tried to capture their sense of history and visual appeal in a Neo-Romantic artistic form.
The work here shows the English Baptist Church in Carmarthen, a Grade II* listed building described as ‘one of the most architecturally ambitious classical chapels in Wales’. Piper photographed the structure, a negative of which was part of the archive he presented to Tate Gallery in 1987.
Estimated at £6000-8000, it brought a good competition and sold at £19,000, an above average sum for a work on paper in this size at auction.
Hulme Place, Salford by LS Lowry, £22,000 at Chiswick Auctions.
Also making a useful contribution to the total was an LS Lowry (1887-1976) drawing of Hulme Place in Salford, a location not far from his home in Pendlebury. The 10½ x 14½in (27 x 37cm) pencil sketch was signed and dated 1926.
It had previously fetched £17,000 at Christie’s in 2002 and was subsequently purchased by the vendor from Cheshire dealer Clark Art. Here it was pitched at £22,000-28,000 and sold on low estimate.
Lowry gift
A selection of Lowry drawings will also appear at North Yorkshire saleroom Tennants on March 2. The group of works were given by the artist to his clock repairer Neville Blakey.
Lowry first met Blakey in the late 1950s when the artist took a clock for repair at the latter’s premises in Pendle, Lancashire. During his first visit Lowry did not reveal his identity. However, by the time he went to collect the clock Blakey had realised who he was and the pair, who had a mutual interest in horology, struck up a lasting friendship.
Figures Young and Old by LS Lowry, guide £40,000-60,000 at Tennants.
The collection includes two pencil sketches: Figures Young and Old from 1969, estimated at £40,000-60,000, and Group of Children from 1966 which is inscribed To Mr and Mrs Neville Blakey on the back and estimated at £12,000-18,000.
Street Scene with Dogs by LS Lowry, estimate £4000-6000 at Tennants.
The third work is Street Scene with Dogs, a biro sketch from 1963 executed on a page in Blakey’s autograph book. The autograph book is accompanied by a ledger in which Blakey recounts the pair’s first meetings and notes that: “This delightful sketch was drawn in the drawing room… He visited us here … and we made return visits on many occasions to his house at Mottram in Longdendale. He was a most kind person…”
The estimate is £4000-6000.
Also included with the lots is a small archive of correspondence between Lowry and Blakey, including copies of letters written to Lowry, and signed letters from Lowry, several of which are written on headed paper from Seaburn Hotel, Sunderland, where Lowry spent many holidays.
