34 2nd April 2011
art market Will the punters give art
■ Over-supply hits bloodstock and paintings but Edwards sees demand in Gloucestershire
Alex Capon reports
WHEN one learns that the bookies took £600m in bets over the four days of the Cheltenham festival, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to wonder why punters don’t spend more on equine art. It may be more understandable when
one finds that UK owners and breeders – a natural market for picture sellers – have just had their two most unprofitable years for decades. In Ireland, where the
Above: The Aftermath by Lionel Edwards – at £13,500 the most popular of the sporting pictures which led the art at Chorley’s sale at Prinknash Abbey on March 3.
Right: by the same artist at the same Gloucestershire sale,A Wall Country, Beaufort Hunt sold at £4800.
economic crisis has been dramatically worse, falling values and oversupply of thoroughbreds has led to a record number of horses being sold to slaughter. The market for sporting art has not
been quite so tragic. But, here too, an abundance of supply often outstrips the demand. Sporting artists tended to be prolific
and the best practioneers received numerous commissions. This means that works now appear at
a regular pace on the secondary market at sales across the country.
Sporting & Fine Wine Sale Thursday 14th April at 11am
Viewing: Tuesday 12th 2pm-5pm, Wednesday 13th 11am-7pm and day of sale 9am-10.45am
Catalogues available from the auctioneers – £8 All enquiries to Martin Millard, Luke Macdonald or Richard Hayward
William Powell & Son, a pair of 12 bore sidelock ejector guns
As with racehorses, the art varies
considerably in terms of quality and, likewise, there are only a few champions in terms of works by select artists in the field – and this is where the money lies. Sporting pictures topped the day at
Chorley’s (17.5% buyer’s premium) sale in Prinknash Abbey, Gloucestershire on March 3. The most highly estimated work,
however, a hunting scene by Heywood Hardy (1843-1933), went unsold against a £8000-10,000 pitch, possibly the result of it featuring a fox being mauled in the
centre of the canvas. This left the way clear for a collection of four works by Lionel Edwards (1878-1966) to take the first two places and, indeed, half of the top eight positions. Works by the Clifton-born artist, who
specialised in equine pictures and scenes of country pursuits, come up regularly at auction and range from around £500 for a small work on paper or print, up to £40,000 for his oil paintings which tend to be larger, later and rarer.
continued on page 36
Frank Calderon (1865-1943), Hounds, oil on panel
Tiger (Panthera tigris), circa 1900, by Rowland Ward
Clifton House, 1-2 Clifton Road, Cambridge CB1 7EA Telephone: 01223 213343 Fax: 01223 271949 Email:
fine.art@
cheffins.co.uk Web:
www.cheffins.co.uk www.the-saleroom.com/cheffins
Part of a private collection of Salmon Fishing flies and reels
A selection from over 80 lots of wine and port
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