Tremendous Tulips
Scottish Colourist Peploe leads the Winter Scottish Paintings & Sculpture Auction
Stormy weather did not deter bidders, and there was a busy saleroom for Lyon & Turnbull’s final Paintings auction of 2015, Scottish Paintings & Sculpture, on Thursday 10 December at 6pm.
A selection of highlights from the sale had toured to Glasgow and London in November, but all lots returned to Edinburgh for final viewing days and sale. The buzz in the room remained throughout the sale with strong bidding in the room, as well as by phone and online.
Nick Curnow, Head of the Sale, reflects on a selection of the top lots of the sale.
Lot 51 | SAMUEL JOHN PEPLOE R.S.A. (SCOTTISH 1871-1935)
STILL LIFE WITH TULIPS ON A BLACK BACKGROUND Sold for £193,250
The top lot of the sale, this striking still-life by Samuel John Peploe attracted bidding both in the room and by phone, before selling well above top estimate, at £193,250. This success continues Lyon & Turnbull’s unrivalled selling rate for pictures by Scottish Colourists, with over 90% sold since 2012.
Lot 8 | ALLAN RAMSAY (SCOTTISH 1713-1784)
HALF LENGTH PORTRAIT OF DR. ALEXANDER MONRO Sold for £51,650
Ramsay's talent as a portraitist is apparent in the gravitas of this portrait of Dr. Monro, who led a distinguished career, including an appointment as Professor of Anatomy at the University of Edinburgh.
Lot 81 | § ALBERTO MORROCCO R.S.A., R.S.W., R.P., R.G.I., L.L.D. (SCOTTISH 1917-1998)
THREE SISTERS OF LUCCA Sold for £30,000
Alberto Morrocco’s particular brand of sunshine and his talent as a colourist was widely admired in the saleroom, before his Three Sisters of Lucca sold for £30,000.
For further information on Morrocco’s work and inspiration, click here.
Lot 88 | § WILLIAM GEAR R.A., F.R.S.A. (SCOTTISH 1915-1997)
LANDSCAPE ON YELLOW Sold for £26,250
Post-war pioneer William Gear’s Landscape on Yellow, drew wide attention, eventually reaching £26,250, against an estimate of £5,000-7,000.
Under-appreciated in Britian in his lifetime, this visionary artist’s work has recently come back to prominence, following renewed interest in his paintings encouraged by a travelling retrospective, William Gear: The Painter that Britain Forgot, which opened in Edinburgh in October 2015.
For further information on Gear’s pioneering spirit, click here.
Lot 21 | JAMES KAY R.S.A., R.S.W. (SCOTTISH 1858-1942)
DEPARTURE FROM THE CLYDE - BOUND FOR THE FRONT Sold for £20,000
The striking composition in this work by Kay was viewed with particular interest when displayed in Glasgow, translating to a total of £20,000, over the top estimate.
Lot 94 | § JOHN BYRNE (SCOTTISH B.1940)
WEST OF EIGHTH AVENUE Sold for £20,000
The sale ended on a high, with John Byrne’s West of Eighth Avenue, selling for more than double top estimate at £20,000. A wonderful result, with all proceeds going to the The Teapot Trust, a charity very close to Byrne’s heart, that provides art therapy in hospital for children suffering from serious long-term illness.
AUCTION
The next Scottish Paintings & Sculpture auction is scheduled for 09 June 2016. Entries invited until the end of April 2016.
CONTACT
If you require an up-to-date valuation of your Scottish Paintings, please contact:
Nick Curnow | 0131 557 8844 | nick.curnow@lyonandturnbull.com