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A striking piece of art by a renowned painter from Grimsby was in high demand when it sold for £17,000 more than its estimate at auction on Wednesday.
The celebrated artist, Thomas Benjamin Kennington, was born in Grimsby in April 1856 and studied at the Liverpool School of Art and the Académie Julian in Paris. He went on to study at the Royal Academy, exhibiting there between 1880 and 1916, when he died aged 60.
He became famous in the art world for his works in social realism, depicting the lives and struggles of ordinary people and highlighting real issues such as poverty, inequality and injustice. His paintings were also often exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists and he was a founding member and first secretary of the New English Art Club.
The Salisbury-based auctioneer Woolley & Wallis sold a portrait of Kennington’s daughter, Anne Struthers, for £25,200 at an auction on Wednesday, against its pre-sale low estimate of £8,000.
The painting came directly from the artist’s family, and after competitive bidding from around the UK and the USA on three telephone lines, it finally won out to a buyer in the UK.
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Commenting on the extraordinary result, Ed Beer, paintings specialist at Woolley & Wallis, said: “This is one of Kennington’s finest portraits and therefore attracted fierce bidding from the UK and abroad. It has remained in the Kennington family collection since it was painted and the seller, who was in the room, was delighted with the result.”
