The prolific painter specialised in highly detailed genre scenes depicting the everyday life of people in the city. These textbook examples had been bought from London dealers MacConnal-Mason and came in gilt gesso frames.
Uppermost among the group in Berkshire was a 22in x 2ft 7in (55 x 80cm) oil of children with baskets of fruit. It had the most vibrant subject of the three – a scene not unlike a good tourist snap today.
The setting for this work was the Riva degli Schiavoni with the Ponte della Paglia shown to the right and the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute shown across the lagoon in the distance.
It was estimated at £6000-8000 and drew good competition, selling at £10,000.
Birds and basilica
In similar vein, a decent contest came for an identically sized view of children feeding birds in Saint Mark’s Square with the basilica in the background. Estimated at £5000-7000, it sold at £6800.
The third work was also set in Saint Mark’s Square but it was a smaller 17½ x 23½in (45 x 60cm) oil on canvas with the main focus being a solitary girl feeding a bird. It sold above a £4000-5000 pitch at £5600.
Overall, the Dawsons sale of jewellery, fine art and antiques on May 27 offered 560 lots with approximately 1000 bidders registered to bid, which helped the picture section to post an 84% selling rate.
