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Lowry, Miss Sri Lanka and Kay Boyce pastels TRIPLE in value - what a sale!
April 18th, 2018
Lowry, Miss Sri Lanka and Kay Boyce pastels TRIPLE in value - what a sale!
LICHFIELD'S historic auction house hosted a fast-paced Decorative and Design Sale in April which saw most bidders dig deep to fight off other would-be buyers.
With 231 lots on offer including paintings, limited edition prints, ceramics and furniture, the April 11 2018 sale at Richard Winterton Auctioneers included something for everyone - whatever their budget.
Following the previous month's successful Spring Fine Art Sale, buyers flocked to the Fradley salerooms in person or placed bids vi the internet and over the telephone.
Auctioneer Richard Winterton said: "What a day! It was definitely a bustling sale with a huge number of bids coming in from the internet as well as over the telephone.
"Paintings and prints continued to sell well, with people looking for something different than mass offerings from high street retailers.
"Shropshire artist Kay Boyce exceeded the pre-sale estimates of £200-300 with two pastel studies of women - for which she is well-known - selling for £900 and £1,000 respectively."
A brightly-coloured limited edition print by Sir Terry Frost - which graced the cover of the sale's glossy catalogue - sold for £1,250 after fierce bidding in the room and via the internet.
Prices for Beryl Cook also seem to be on the rise again - witness Lot 49, 'Bar and Barbara', which rocketed past the £150-200 estimate to fetch £480.
A few moments later, an LS Lowry signed print sold for £2,600 after a flurry of bidding in the room and over the internet proved the value of a signature.
Another Lowry, 'Man Holding A Child', sold minutes before for £2,000.
The star lot of the art section, though, was an oil on canvas painting of former Miss Sri Lanka Shivanthini Dharmasiri by Brazillian artist Fabien Perez, which sold at £4,000.
Decorative glass items are a growing market for collectors, with a purely decorative hand-blown sculpture of a bird signed by Finnish glass blower Oiva Toikka trippling the miniumum estimate to sell at £150.
Decorative and studio glass valuer David Fergus said: "Anything that's decorative that has a designer name and signature will naturally attract a higher premium - and in terms of the market, people are having more confidence in buying decorative items.
The ever-popular Whitefriars glass market remains as boyant as ever - especialy the textured designs by Geoffery Baxter, with a 9680 pattern vase more commonly known as the 'hooped' vase selling at £110.
The vase's new owner which will certainly not be filling it with water. But two sets of brightly coloured - and very useable - wine glasses sold for £140 and will make a great talking point at any dinner party.
The vintage market, too, is a growing one and items of great design by well-known designers are keenly sought by collectors.
A 1930s burgandy Vitascope bakelite clock had a hammer price of £360 after some frenzied bidding.
Teak, though, is flavour of the month with an abstract wooden sculpture by the late Brian Willsher selling for well above estimte at £200 and a 1960s teak ice bucket by the Danish designer Jens Quistgaard fetching £80.
Meanwhile, a Midwinter Stonehenge coffee set in the Caprice pattern sold at a modest £45, making great design available to all.
Lichfield Auction Centre at Fradley Park is open daily.
Coming up next are the three-day Home and Interior Sale on April 24-26 and the Coins, Medals and Military Sale on April 30. For more information, call 01543 251081.