10 December 2024
Lyon & Turnbull
The work of women artists took centre stage at our flagship winter Scottish Paintings & Sculpture sale in Edinburgh on Thursday 05 December.
A rare painting by Anne Estelle Rice (1877-1959), whose work became eclipsed during her lifetime by former partner, the Scottish Colourist John Duncan Fergusson, sold for £112,700*. Rice's A Bowl of Fruit had been estimated to fetch between £30,000 and £50,00.
The work was created by Rice in 1911 during a key period when she and Fergusson were living in Paris and were steeped first hand in Post-Impressionism and the latest developments in French art. This included the works of the Fauves (tr: Wild Beasts), such as Henri Matisse and André Derain.
Alice Strang described it as a 'a highly confident, sensually charged and boldly coloured image of female empowerment, which re-casts some of Paul Gauguin’s interests from a female perspective.'
Other highlights of the sale, the overall total of which was £1.43million*, included a work by revered Anglo-Scottish artist Joan Eardley of one of the many 'Townhead weans' she drew and painted in Glasgow in the 1950s and early 1960s. The pastel drawing, Girl in Striped Jersey, exceeded its £15,000-£20,000 estimate to sell for £30,200*, pointing to increasing demand for the work of Eardley.
A beautiful painting by Bessie MacNicol, of her sister Minnie, sold for £47,700*, more than doubling its estimate.
The Veiled Hat (Portrait of the Artist's Sister) has been described by the Glasgow Girl's biographer, Ailsa Tanner, as ‘one of the loveliest pictures Bessie MacNicol ever painted’.
There was also strong interest in a painting by acclaimed Scottish artist, Anne Redpath, focusing on a key period in her life in 1940s and 1950s when she beginning to receive recognition within a male-dominated art world. Farm at Spittal on Rule sold for £27,000*.
The sisters’ intimacy is evident in the portrait’s psychological insight. Minnie is dressed in fashionable finery as if ready for a social engagement or a day in town, but her expression suggests a state of reverie, inviting us to wonder what - or who - so preoccupies her.
An iconic depiction of Kelso in the Scottish Borders, painted by William Daniell (1769 - 1837) in the early nineteenth century, achieved a world record for one of his views of British landmarks.
Daniell's View of the New Bridge over the River Tweed at Kelso, which had an estimate of £15,000-£20,000, sold for £150,200*.
William Daniell is arguably the foremost topographical artist produced by Britain. Daniell expertly captures the atmosphere of this panoramic view, from the elegance and grandeur of the bridge itself to its dramatic reflection in the water below.
Our Senior Specialist Alice Strang, who was on the rostrum for the first part of the sale, said:
"Women artists captivated bidders at this exciting auction, with Anne Estelle Rice’s remarkable A Bowl of Fruit soaring to £112,700 after fierce bidding in the room, on the phone and on-line.
"Glasgow Girl Bessie MacNicol’s The Veiled Hat proved it deserved its description as ‘one of the loveliest pictures’ she ever painted when it flew past its top estimate of £20,000 to achieve £47,700.
"Mention should also be made of William Daniell’s View of the New Bridge over the River Tweed at Kelso. It attracted bid after bid after bid, to reach a triumphant £150,200."
*All sold prices include buyer's premium.
