Old Master, British & European Pictures

The Old Master, British & European Pictures department holds tri-annual auctions dedicated to over 500 years of art history, from the beginning of the Renaissance to the early years of the 20th century. The sales include a rich variety of artists, schools, and genres: from the 14th and 15th-century Italian gold ground artists; to the early Netherlandish, Italian Renaissance and Mannerist painters; the Northern and Southern Baroque; the Rococo; the Grand Tour artists; biblical, historical and mythological painting; portraiture; landscapes; still-life painting; topographical pictures; and the Victorian, pre-Raphaelite, 19th-century European, Orientalist, and British Impressionist artists. Such works are in a variety of media including oils, watercolours, drawings, and prints.

The sales feature single consignments as well as entire collections. Attracting an extensive range of local and international clients, demand remains strong for the quality, refinement, and rarity that these works have to offer. A picture’s attribution, subject matter, quality and condition, as well as its size and provenance, continue to be critical to establishing its value and importance, and our team of specialists devote much time to research, attribution, and comprehensive cataloguing.

Notable auction results include a small and previously unidentified oil on board by John Constable RA which achieved £375,000; a wonderful Punchinello drawing by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo which fetched £100,000; and a magnificent oil attributed to the 17^th-century French female Baroque master Louise Moillon at £57,500.

With a wealth of in-house experience, our specialists possess a comprehensive understanding of the current market and its evolving nature whilst maintaining excellent relationships with collectors historic and new. Please contact our specialists for a free and confidential valuation or to discuss buying and selling in this category.