‘We fell in love the moment we saw it’: Call for more fine art after painting tripled its estimate at Shropshire auction

Halls Fine Art in Shrewsbury is holding its next fine art auction on January 21. It follows the success of October’s sale that saw one painting triple in value and bumper prices fetched for a number of artworks. 

The October 15 auction of paintings and prints saw an oil on canvas by Mary Elizabeth Harding (b. circa 1857) sell for £6,000.

The pre-Raphaelite style painting of a lady in a bluebell wood, kneeling down picking flowers, tripled its pre-sale top estimate.

“We all fell in love with the painting from the moment we saw it, “ said Chloe Delpy-Harding from Halls Fine Art’s modern and contemporary art and design team. “It was such a charming subject and the Midlands vendor, who had inherited the painting from his grandmother, sold it reluctantly because he was downsizing.”

Strong demand for maritime paintings also saw an oil by Oliver Ussison Hodgson (1810-‘78) sell for £1,800 in October. The 1849 painting captured the two-masted schooner ‘Bee’ surrounded by smaller vessels in rough water against coastal cliffs and a distant town visible in the distance.

The same Midlands vendor sold a 19th-century oil on board, titled ‘Royal Mail Packet – V.R. Paddle Steamer Isle of Bute’, steam away from its pre-sale estimate to sell for £850.

The Royal Mail Packet Service was a historical postal system where, from 1820s, ships – originally sailing vessels and later steamships – were used to transport mail internationally.

Another charming painting, a watercolour by Charles Edward Wilson (1854-1941) titled ‘Between School Hours’, captured two children playing with rabbits and sold for £750.

 “It was such a sweet painting and the colours were so well preserved,” added Chloe.

She said paintings for their next sale must be consigned before the December 19 closing date.

Already consigned are a pair large oil paintings after James Pollard (1792-1867) of King George III hunting, each valued at between £2,000 and £3,000. One is titled “King George III Hunting in Windsor Forest” while the other is “King George III Returning from Hunting”. Both measure 75cms x 105cm.

A British artist noted for his mail coach, fox hunting and equine scenes, Pollard exhibited at the Royal Academy and British Institution.

Another oil on canvas in the auction is one by William Edward Webb (1862-1903) of a woman and a child sat in a gondola in Venice, with sailing vessels on either side and St Mark’s Dome in the distance. The painting carries an estimate of £800 to £1,200.

Born in Cheltenham, Webb was a British marine artist who specialised in coastal scenes. He exhibited his work in Manchester, the Royal Academy in London and the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.

To consign paintings or prints email fineart@hallsgb.com.