Watercolours

A painting method that employs pigment suspended in a water-based solution, usually applied onto paper.

Though its earliest origins are thought to be prehistoric, its history is usually dated from the Renaissance, when it was used by artists such as Albrecht Durer.

While it may be used as for the creation of preparatory studies, it is also an art form in its own right, and is a technique used for botanical illustration, wildlife illustration and topographical painting as well as traditional genres, particularly landscape.


Portrait of Henry III by court artist Jean Decourt

'Lockdown locket' of Henry III could go home to France

30 January 2021

A ‘lockdown locket’ discovered at a regional auction house has been identified as depicting Henri III, King of France (1551-89) by portrait miniature consultant Emma Rutherford at dealership Philip Mould.

img_21-3.jpg

Steamy Russell Flint works set pulses racing

25 January 2021

A collection of watercolours by Sir William Russell Flint (1880-1969) given their own stand-alone catalogue set pulses racing at Lyon & Turnbull.

img_19-3.jpg

Miniature of Benjamin West by Henry Bone sells to US buyer

18 January 2021

A miniature by Henry Bone (1755-1834) depicting the American artist Benjamin West (1738-1820) was among the notable lots at the recent Hansons sale.

img_26-1.jpg

Swedish painter’s alpine view brings a sense of place to Master Drawings New York

18 January 2021

“It was the first time I found myself in front of a glacier, alone in the infinite silence and solitude of the snow mountain, surrounded by the overwhelming majesty of nature…”

img_20-4.jpg

Whitefriars stained glass designs offered at Abbott and Holder

04 January 2021

This 1928 ink and watercolour of stained glass for Stockton on the Forest in North Yorkshire is offered at Abbott and Holder for £350.

PowellSons-057.jpg

West Sussex museum buys Edwardian designs for local church windows from London dealer

30 December 2020

Horsham Museum and Art Gallery has bought a presentation watercolour for three stained glass windows in local church St Peter’s in Cowfold from London dealers Abbott and Holder.

img_23-5.jpg

New Zealand artist's watercolour available from Jonathan Grant Gallery

14 December 2020

Last month, New Zealand dealer John Gooderham of Jonathan Grant Gallery released a catalogue of works by artist Frances Hodgkins and her circle after three years of research.

img_36-2.jpg

Bewitched by the mystic arts: New York drawings dealer hosts show of Occult pictures

30 November 2020

New York exhibition orginally for Halloween seems to suit the crazy year as a whole

img_38-2.jpg

Sleep thinkers at winter edition of London Art Week

30 November 2020

A marble relief, 'Sleep' by French sculptor and doll-maker Albert Marque (1872-1947), is among the highlights on offer at this winter’s edition of London Art Week (LAW).

img_20-1.jpg

Ornithological watercolour ordered by brother of Louis XIII is highest Parker Fine Art saleroom price so far

23 November 2020

The highest price to date at Parker Fine Art Auctions (25% buyer’s premium) came at its latest Fine Paintings sale when a rare ornithological watercolour caught the eye of a number of bidders, including from abroad.

img_16-1.jpg

Miniature depicting key figure in colonial Australia draws demand at Lawrences of Bletchingley

16 November 2020

This 4 x 3in (10 x 8cm) oil on ivory miniature, offered by Lawrences (20% buyer’s premium) of Bletchingley, is attributed to the English miniature painter William Mineard Bennett (1778-1858).

img_28-6.jpg

Paper view: 30 previews of books, prints, posters, ephemera and documents available at dealers and auctions

16 November 2020

The term ‘works on paper’ encompasses a diverse range of media from artist’s prints to posters, ephemera and documents. Pictured here, along with an array of books, is a section of items available to buy from dealers or bid for at auction.

img_41-3.jpg

5 Questions: Specialist watercolour and drawings dealer Derek Newman

02 November 2020

Derek Newman is a specialist dealer in 18th-20th century watercolours and drawings. His annual exhibition of 18th-20th century British watercolours runs from November 12-15.

img_23-2.jpg

Squirrell catches the eye in Essex and Cambridge auctions

02 November 2020

Leonard Squirrell (1893-1979) is most associated with East Anglia, producing a significant body of rural scenes of Suffolk and Norfolk as well as cityscapes of Norwich and Ipswich.

Miniature of Vice Admiral John Hunter

Portrait miniature, Lalique jewellery and Chelsea dish – five auction highlights that caught bidders’ eyes

30 October 2020

ATG’s weekly selection of items that caught bidders’ eyes includes a rare portrait miniature of an Australian governor and a Lalique jewellery suite formerly belonging to a ‘scandalous’ Edwardian socialite.

img_46-4.jpg

Albert Wainwright works highlight Stourbridge sale

26 October 2020

The Decades of Design sale at Fieldings (24% buyer’s premium inc VAT) in Stourbridge on October 15-16 included 52 works from the family of Albert Wainwright (1898-1943). He was a Castleford artist who trained at the Leeds School of Art in 1914.

img_34-2.jpg

Female artists under London Art Week spotlight

19 October 2020

This month, London Art Week (LAW) uses the digital platform it launched over the summer to run Art History in Focus. The event combines online discourse with exhibitions and objects on offer in galleries (and on gallery websites), putting the spotlight on two major themes: women artists and framing.

img_36-1.jpg

Arader’s perfect score

05 October 2020

The October 10 auction at New York’s Arader Galleries includes the collection of the surgeon Dr Seymour Schwartz (2020) – a map collector Graham Arader considered something of a mentor.

'A Very Gallant Gentleman' by John Charles Dollman

Sketch of Captain Oates walking to his death makes £23,000 in Essex

29 September 2020

A sketch for the painting ‘A Very Gallant Gentleman’ by John Charles Dollman (1851-1934) sold for £23,000 at Sworders last week.

img_1-1.jpg

Coincidence reunites Messel brothers after 99 years as watercolour portraits emerge at two separate auctions

28 September 2020

Separated for many years, portraits of two brothers by WBE Ranken (1881-1941) came up at auction at different London salerooms last week. The fact that they emerged on the market simultaneously was seemingly pure coincidence.

Categories

News