Another beautiful Wilfrid Wood watercolour sells in the 1st August
Fine Art, Antiques & Specialist Collectors Sale
After a string of fantastic results at Batemans for the local artist across the last few years, Greg Bateman, Managing Director explains "We hold a very special regard for Wilfrid Wood's watercolour views of Stamford, not just because they are of the town that we love, but also because of the obvious skill and attention to detail that he took over these landscapes and his street scenes."
"Wilfrid honed his talent across many decades of painting, and his enviable ability can be seen in the growing quality and assurance of his work across his lifetime. We have been fortunate to sell dozens of his paintings and feel a great connection to this celebrated local artist; we have dealt directly with both relatives and friends of Wilfrid himself, who passed away in 1976, at the age of 88. Spectacular sale results at Batemans have proved time and again that Batemans is the best possible place to sell his work."
With a fervent local following and the ability to promote upcoming works to the best advantage, Greg Bateman's hopes for this most recent discovery were realised again with some fantastic interest and an exciting battle to secure this wonderful local view. It depicts a glorious late spring view across the western edge of the town centre, from a position out beyond the town Meadows. The spires of St Mary's, St Martins, St George's, St John's, and All Saints churches are scattered across the sweep of the view, all reaching up into a hazy blue and cloudy strewn sky.
It was offered with pre-sale estimates of £200 - £300
It sold for £864 (inc 20% BP) ... more than double the top estimate!
To see other works Batemans have sold, please follow this link: Wilfrid Wood - Past Results
Other top selling lots in this sale included:
An extremely stylish set of Danish chairs, made by J. L. Møllers Møbelfabrik, Model No. 71, circa 1960, designed in 1951 by Niels Møller. Good Danish furniture is in particularly high demand as the mid century modern aesthetic really tightens it's grip on the prevailing taste and fashion of this past decade and looks to continue. A large set with ten chairs is a rarer offering at the best of times, coupled with great condition and desirable maker pushed the chairs well beyond their £1,000 to £1,500 estimates to sell for £2,064 (inc 20% BP).
From the same vendor came this beautifully designed English sideboard, and they had thought it too was of Danish manufacture until we had to gently correct them. Clearly borrowing design cues from the Danish modernism of the period the vendor's mistake was an easy one to make. Batemans identified it as being designed by Robert Heritage for Archie Shine, a British firm based in London and selling through Harrods and Heals, it was seemingly a less common model than some.
It also garnered very strong bidding and sold for an impressive £780 (inc 20% BP).
A very unusual item consigned to Batemans for auction was this Torpedo Gyroscope, from the Royal Gun factory in Woolwich, and unusually still with it's firing key. These items were the guidance systems for early torpedos and understandably are rather rare! It drew various specialist interest from across the UK and sold with a resounding 'boom' for £744 (inc 20% BP).
A lot which caused much anticipation was this Chinese silk robe. The Chinese market is especially exciting and unpredictable, and those items with 'potential' are always followed closely to see what will happen on the day! This lot was no exception, producing a pre-sale online bidding battle and a fantastic final result. It was intricately embroidered with butterflies,flowers and five clawed dragons, all against a dark blue ground. It sold to a Chinese bidder for £816 (inc 20% BP).
Finally the first part of a spectacular modern collection of Mint Stamps, Booklets, Presentation Packs, Smilers, and First Day Covers, which are being sold across two auctions in August and September due to the sheer quantity and quality on offer. Formed with extreme care and attention across the last 30 years it was a real privilege to be asked to catalogue and sell such an amazing collection, and many hours went into producing the catalogue descriptions and photographs to try to do it justice.
Part I of the collection was offered in 18 separate lots with combined estimates of £2,850 to £3,890, and included two large groups of First Day Covers contained in 13 stamp albums! These FDCs generated a huge amount of interest, and against estimates for both lots of £100-£150 they sold spectacularly for £528 and £864 (inc 20% BP). The highest selling lot however was a single album which included 117 full sheets of Royal Mail Smilers, almost 2,500 stamps in total! The album sold for £1,176 (inc 20% BP). The collection as a whole, with all 18 lots selling for a 100% sell rate, totalled £4,590 (inc 20% BP)!
