Art Market

Little-known artist tutored by Cedric Morris comes under the spotlight thanks to her portrait of him

Stephen Ward (1912-63) will no doubt always be remembered as the man who introduced the model Christine Keeler to the politician John Profumo.

Works that come to auction directly from artists’ estates often have extra appeal due to a combination of factors.

The artist Samuel Fulton (1855-1941) painted portraits of people and horses but by far his favourite subject was dogs.

Atmospheric views of London were the stock-in-trade of George Hyde Pownall (1866-1932).

Small sky study sets a new high for works by the artist who was a great observer of nature

Between December 13 and 19 Sotheby’s Paris rooms will offer a series of live and online auctions of works from the collection of Hubert Guerrand-Hermès (1940-2016), a descendant of the founder of the famous firm Hermès.

Scenes of parks were a favourite topic of artist Doris Clare Zinkeisen (1897-1991) although most of those produced show figures or horses and carriages.

A high price for a Winifred Nicholson (1893-1981) picture sold outside the main London rooms came recently in Cumbria.

Highlights of the sale of Modern and Contemporary Art on November 16 at Clars in Oakland, California, will include works by Andy Warhol, the Latvian/American artist Raimonds Staprans, the American artist Gordon Onslow Ford and this monumental work by the Austrian artist Goetz Valien (b.1960).

Sotheby’s (26/20/13.9% buyer’s premium plus 1% overhead premium) staged three Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary auctions in Paris during the second half of October.

Among the works that caught the eye at a Mellors & Kirk (24% buyer’s premium) sale in Nottingham was a flower painting by Laurence Biddle (1888-1968).

Jane Bond (b.1939), a costume designer for stage, television and films, started painting portraits especially from the early 1980s onward.

On September 21 Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr (28/27/21/14.5% buyer’s premium) held a sale in Paris celebrating the decade of the 1980s.

The British artist Howard Hodgkin (1932-2017) is well known as both a painter and printmaker.

Two of the highest prices at auction in the last 20 years for Dame Ethel Walker (1861-1951) came at Roseberys’ (26% buyer’s premium) latest Modern British & 20th Century Art sale.

A raft of Modern and Contemporary art auctions were held in Paris in the second half of October coinciding with the Paris + par Art Basel fair held at the Grand Palais Ephemère.

The most contested lot in Bonhams’ October 19 Expressionism: Germany, Austria and Beyond sale was a self-portrait by the German painter Hermann Lismann (1878-1943).

An example from Frederick Edward McWilliam’s (1909-92) 'Women of Belfast' series is being offered at Halls’ auction in Shrewsbury on December 6.

The textile works by Alighiero Boetti are instantly recognisable with their often geometric designs and brightly coloured embroidery.