A number of paintings both by himself and other artists had been hanging in his home, where his widow is now downsizing, while a group of sketchbooks, preliminary drawings, blotting pads, book drafts and other items had remained in his studio.
The latter were grouped together as a single lot and estimated at £30-50.
With many of these works signed and dated, the lot drew strong interest against its attractive estimate and was eventually knocked down at £3800 to a collector who knew the artist and had collected his works for some time.
Typical watercolour
The same buyer purchased a small but trademark watercolour titled Early Snow which, as is typically the case with the artist’s later works, showed a landscape with distant homesteads. Measuring 6½ x 5¾in (17 x 15cm), it dated from 1991 and overshot a £15-25 pitch to sell at £500.
'Early Snow' by Michael Morgan – £500 at Atkins Auctions.
Another purchase by this collector at the same price (against the same estimate) was a watercolour, Two Cottages.
Also from Morgan’s estate at the January 29 sale were two Mary Fedden (1915-2012) watercolours: a landscape from 1971 estimated at £100-150 that fetched £1700 and one depicting a tabby cat from 2004 that made £3800 (estimate £1000-1500).
