Roseberys' summer Old Master, British, and European Pictures sale achieved exceptional results this week, highlighted by a remarkable and unprecedented sale of a newly discovered portrait of George Washington by renowned American artist Charles Willson Peale. This miniature, never before seen on the market, soared past its pre-sale estimate of £15,000-£25,000, ultimately being secured by a room bidder for a robust £50,000 hammer price.
LOT 172: Charles Willson Peale, American 1741-1827- Portrait of George Washington
The Old Masters section of the sale was led by several fine works on paper. Jan Brueghel’s view of Spa, which was last seen on the market in the 1960s, also fetched a £50,000 hammer price, a strong result which attests to the enduring appeal of Old Master works on paper in the current market.
A work which sailed to surprising heights was lot 113, a chalk study of a ship attributed to Wilem van de Velde the Younger. The drawing, executed on an unusually large sheet, bore similarities to several examples in museum collections. Phone bidders took the lot to a hammer price of £36,000, over a pre-sale estimate of £1,000-1,500.
LOT 113: Attributed to Willem van de Velde the Younger, Dutch 1633-1707- A Galleon at sea
Price Realised: £47,040
Another stand-out result in the Old Masters section was a small, confidently rendered oil study of two putti by the Neapolitan Baroque painter Francesco Solimena, which achieved £12,000 on the hammer.
LOT 29: Francesco Solimena, Italian 1657-1747- Two putti in flight;
Price Realised: £15,744
Maritime oils also had the wind in their sails this week, with works by Peter Monamy and George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson achieving £16,000 and £9,500 hammer prices respectively.
LOT 112: Peter Monamy, English 1681-1749- The Royal William Firing a Salute
Price Realised: £20,992
LOT 169: George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson, Irish 1806-1884- A warship off Queenstown
Price Realised: £12,464
A portrait by Philip Alexius de Laszlo stood out in the latter section of the auction, achieving a hammer price of £11,000, over its top estimate. This sensitive work depicted the artist’s son, Henry, and was eventually sold to an online bidder.
LOT 494: Philip Alexius de László, PRBA, Hungarian/British 1869-1937- Portrait of Henry de László
Price Realised: £14,432
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