Bonhams 'The Arts in Wales' Auction Report.
Wednesday 11th September 2002. Tredegar House and Park, Newport.

Front cover illustration of the Bonhams catalogue for the auction on the 11th September 2002.
The image is of Caernafon castle, painted by
Sir Frank Brangwyn (1867 - 1956).

There is no better barometer of the current state of the market than a really good auction sale. So on a sunny September morning, I arrived at the beautiful Tredegar House and Park, Newport, where Bonhams were holding their second annual sale, entitled 'The Arts in Wales'.
After sitting through the glass, ceramics and books etc., there followed some 258 lots of artworks. These were split into two sections - 18th and 19th Century Paintings
and Works on Paper and 20th Century Paintings. On the whole, the first section, of 18th and 19th Century work, consisted mostly of picturesque landscapes of Snowdonia from the Victorian era. These were popular with the dealers and sold well, however, the majority sold under their estimated prices, which were pitched high throughout the sale. Sidney Richard Percy's landscape, dated 1879, Llyn Idwal, North Wales sold for £5,200 and An Extensive Upland Welsh Landscape, dated 1893, by Alfred Augustus Glendening Jnr was knocked down for £6,800. There were several portraits, one by Sir Watkin Williams Wynn BT astride his horse, watercolour dated 1859 by Joshua Dighton, went for £600 to a telephone bidder (Was this the National Library?).
In the 20th Century Pictures Section, Sir Kyffin Williams reigned supreme, with 39 lots from signed prints to large oils selling on or above their estimated prices.
A small watercolour for example; Ifan Roberts - Farmer fetching £1800. In general however I was disappointed with the quality of entries of contemporary artists, and in this I include a large entry of the work of Josef Herman. Out of three entries of work by Alfred Janes, Little Cactus, dated 1947, was keenly bid for, selling for £2,300, (estimated price £1,000 - £1,500) , the other two remained unsold. This was unfortunately the story for many of the modern works, particularly those paintings which were not dated by the artists concerned. This is a lesson for all artists who intend to sell their work through the auction rooms. Two drawings of Dylan Thomas by Mervyn Levy, were a typical example of this with buyers being doubtful of the provenance of the dates.
Among the post war artists represented, were John Uzzell Edwards (A Gipsy Band £280), Colin Allen (The Yellow Sky £75) Leslie Moore (Romilly Park, Barry £380), Gordon Stuart (Boats Tied up at Pao, watercolour £140) Peter Prendergast (View from Studio etching £140) Valerie Ganz (Ebbw Vale Steel Works 1979 two watercolours £600) Iwan Bala (Black Apple of Gower, After Ceri Richards £180) Arthur Giardelli, two water colours, (Notre Dame Cathedral and Nove Devichy £170) Ceri Richards (The Piano Player, lithograph £480) John Piper (Caernarvon Castle, limited print £620) Ray Howard Jones (Three Cliffs, The Gower 1956 £420) Glyn Morgan (Pontypridd 1955 £920) Donald McIintyre (The Anchorage 1998 £980) David Griffiths (Welsh Miners Son £920) Hywel Harries (Salem Revisited 1969, £1,450) and finally Sir Frank Brangwyn's Caernarvon Castle fetched £9.500 estimated at £10,000 - £12,000. You could go on and on, but one thing is true, the saleroom is not the place for the feint hearted.
To end on a lighter note, two of Wales' eminent art experts, spotted the sleeping unsigned Ceri Richards drawing? Amongst a lot described as 'British School ( 20th Century ). A Folio of Prints and Woodcuts, including works by M Lucas, Trevor Bates (1957) and others'. The estimate for this lot was £100 - £200 (Trevor Bates was a founder member of the '56 Group Wales', along with Eric Malthouse). This lot was knocked down quickly to Peter Wakelin - much to the annoyance of fellow bidder Prof' Tony Curtis, who was not quite quick enough to catch the eye of the over eager auctioneer.

Bernard Mitchell.

Please feel free to contact us at: info@welshartsarchive.org.uk with your suggestions and comments.

"Little Cactus" (1947) by Alfred Janes sold for £2,300.

A good attendance for the sale.

"Ifan Roberts - Farmer"
by Sir Kyffin Williams RA
sold for £1,800