Latest news with #OldMasters
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Painting once owned by first British prime minister fetches record fee
A Canaletto painting of Venice owned by Britain's first prime minister has fetched a new auction record for the artist. Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day (c. 1732), was sold to an anonymous bidder for £27.5 million (£31.9 million with fees) at Christie's in London last night. The painting adorned the walls of Number 10 Downing Street during the 20 year tenure of Sir Robert Walpole, in the 1700s. Andrew Fletcher, Christie's global head of the Old Masters Department, said the piece was 'unquestionably the greatest work by the artist to have come to the market in a generation.' He said: 'Seldom does a true masterpiece such as this – particularly by a painter as important as Canaletto – appear on the art market. 'This extraordinary painting of the grandest and most familiar view of Venice, by the city's most recognisable painter, dates to Canaletto's finest period and is as notable for its illustrious provenance as much as for its impeccable condition.' Christie's King Street headquarters had been decorated with a reproduction of the painting in the lead up to Tuesday's Old Masters Evening Sale, where the Venetian's work had been expected to fetch £20 million. The oil on canvas artwork was formerly accompanied by a pendant showing The Grand Canal, looking north-east from Palazzo Balbi to the Rialto Bridge. The pair had remained together until Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day, was last sold at Paris auction house Ader Tajan in 1993. Appearing at auction for the first time in nearly 250 years, the Venetian's work fetched 66 million French francs (£7.5m), setting a record for an Old Master sold at auction in France. The pendant, Grand Canal from Palazzo Balbi to the Rialto, was later sold at Sotheby's in London in 2005, for £18.6m, which was formerly the record auction price for a Canaletto. Discovery The painting's presence in Sir Robert's collection was first noticed by British Art historian Sir Oliver, who discovered a reference in the 1736 manuscript catalogue of paintings at 10 Downing Street and in the 1751 auction catalogue when they were sold by Sir Robert's grandson, George. While it is not known when Sir Robert acquired the Canaletto, it is likely that his son, Edward, facilitated the deal after his time spent in Venice between 1730 and 1731. Purchase of the paintings may have been prompted by the refurbishment of 10 Downing Street in 1732-35 after the residence was offered to Sir Robert by King George II in 1732. Falling on the fortieth day after Easter Sunday, the Feast of the Ascension of Christ was a staple of the Venetian calendar until the fall of the Republic in 1797. On this day alone would the Doge use Bucintoro, the official galley of the Doge of Venice and a symbol of the Serenissima, to sail out to the lido and cast a ring into the water as a symbol of Venice's marriage to the sea. The vessel depicted in Canaletto's work, the last to be made at the Arsenale, was designed by Stefano Conti, and decorated by the sculptor Antonio Corradini. Giovanni Antonio Canal, known as Canaletto, was born in Venice in 1697. He became a favourite of British collectors, visiting England repeatedly between 1746 and 1756.
Reuters
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Reuters
Canaletto painting, once owned by first British prime minister, heads to auction
LONDON, June 6 (Reuters) - A painting by Italian artist Giovanni Antonio Canal, best known as Canaletto, which was once owned by Britain's first prime minister, heads to auction next month, with a price estimate of more than $27 million. "Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day", from around 1732, has only been offered for auction twice before and will lead the July 1 "Old Masters Evening Sale" during Christie's Classic Week in London. It is listed with an "estimate on request, in excess of 20 million pounds" ($27.09 million) price tag. The painting depicts the Bucintoro, the official barge of the Doge of Venice, returning to the quay side on the feast of the Ascension. "It's a ten out of ten on every measure... This is the grandest view you could possibly conceive of Venice at its grandest moment, Ascension Day, with all of the pomp and ceremony," Andrew Fletcher, Christie's global head of the Old Masters Department, told Reuters. "It's in unbelievably beautiful condition, partly because it's passed through so few collections over its lifetime." The painting looks towards the entrance of Venice's Grand Canal as the Bucintoro returns to the Doge's Palace. "Perhaps the most extraordinary thing about this painting is that it is possibly the picture which set off the craze for works by Canaletto in the United Kingdom, which of course was the country and the people who were his greatest patrons," Fletcher said. It once hung at 10 Downing Street, the official residence of British prime ministers. It was first recorded there in 1736, in the collection of Sir Robert Walpole, generally regarded as Britain's first prime minister. It was sold at auction after his death and bought by the financier Samson Gideon. It remained in Gideon's family until 1930 and last came to auction in 1993. "It is painted in the early 1730s, which is generally considered the apex... of Canaletto's output," Fletcher said. "This is the time where he had left behind the sort of ultra atmospheric views of the 1720s, had found this formula on which his fame would then ride - this sort of very detailed but actually quite limited palette, but focusing very much on the detail of, and the beauty of, the Venetian architecture and people." ($1 = 0.7382 pounds)
Irish Independent
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Five Turner works to be auctioned on 250th anniversary of painter's birth
Born in 1775, Joseph Mallord William Turner was a painter and printmaker during the English romantic period and was most famed for his landscapes, often of a nautical theme. Christie's auction company, which sold a Turner watercolour for £5.8 million in 2006, will present several of his works for auction this July. Among the pieces being sold is a watercolour titled, Lake Brienz, With The Setting Moon, during the Old Masters Evening Sale on July 1. It is estimated to fetch between £600,000 and £800,000. There is also View Of Stoke House, which carries an estimated selling price of £20,000 to £30,000, and depicts a figure sketching what is thought to be a self-portrait in the foreground. This piece, along with two others will be put for sale as part of the Old Masters, 19th Century Paintings And Drawings From A Private Collection: Selling Without Reserve event taking place on July 2. Another of the pieces in this sale depicts the Cornish coastline around Pendennis Castle and carries an estimated selling price of £60,000 to £100,000. One other Turner work, a pencil and watercolour on paper, will be part of Christie's Old Masters To Modern Day Sale: Paintings, Drawing Sculpture, also taking place on July 2. These sales are part of Christie's Classic Week, which forms part of the auction company's programme of events for its London summer season. Earlier in the year Tate Britain announced it would celebrate the 250th anniversary of Turner's birth with a new room showcasing his work and also said it would open a new video installation about Turner's travels across Europe, among other things. Every other year the gallery hosts a prize ceremony for a prestigious contemporary art award named after the painter which is awarded to a British artist annually.
South Wales Guardian
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- South Wales Guardian
Five Turner works to be auctioned on 250th anniversary of painter's birth
Born in 1775, Joseph Mallord William Turner was a painter and printmaker during the English romantic period and was most famed for his landscapes, often of a nautical theme. Christie's auction company, which sold a Turner watercolour for £5.8 million in 2006, will present several of his works for auction this July. Among the pieces being sold is a watercolour titled, Lake Brienz, With The Setting Moon, during the Old Masters Evening Sale on July 1. It is estimated to fetch between £600,000 and £800,000. There is also View Of Stoke House, which carries an estimated selling price of £20,000 to £30,000, and depicts a figure sketching what is thought to be a self-portrait in the foreground. This piece, along with two others will be put for sale as part of the Old Masters, 19th Century Paintings And Drawings From A Private Collection: Selling Without Reserve event taking place on July 2. Another of the pieces in this sale depicts the Cornish coastline around Pendennis Castle and carries an estimated selling price of £60,000 to £100,000. One other Turner work, a pencil and watercolour on paper, will be part of Christie's Old Masters To Modern Day Sale: Paintings, Drawing Sculpture, also taking place on July 2. These sales are part of Christie's Classic Week, which forms part of the auction company's programme of events for its London summer season. Earlier in the year Tate Britain announced it would celebrate the 250th anniversary of Turner's birth with a new room showcasing his work and also said it would open a new video installation about Turner's travels across Europe, among other things. Every other year the gallery hosts a prize ceremony for a prestigious contemporary art award named after the painter which is awarded to a British artist annually.
North Wales Chronicle
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- North Wales Chronicle
Five Turner works to be auctioned on 250th anniversary of painter's birth
Born in 1775, Joseph Mallord William Turner was a painter and printmaker during the English romantic period and was most famed for his landscapes, often of a nautical theme. Christie's auction company, which sold a Turner watercolour for £5.8 million in 2006, will present several of his works for auction this July. Among the pieces being sold is a watercolour titled, Lake Brienz, With The Setting Moon, during the Old Masters Evening Sale on July 1. It is estimated to fetch between £600,000 and £800,000. There is also View Of Stoke House, which carries an estimated selling price of £20,000 to £30,000, and depicts a figure sketching what is thought to be a self-portrait in the foreground. This piece, along with two others will be put for sale as part of the Old Masters, 19th Century Paintings And Drawings From A Private Collection: Selling Without Reserve event taking place on July 2. Another of the pieces in this sale depicts the Cornish coastline around Pendennis Castle and carries an estimated selling price of £60,000 to £100,000. One other Turner work, a pencil and watercolour on paper, will be part of Christie's Old Masters To Modern Day Sale: Paintings, Drawing Sculpture, also taking place on July 2. These sales are part of Christie's Classic Week, which forms part of the auction company's programme of events for its London summer season. Earlier in the year Tate Britain announced it would celebrate the 250th anniversary of Turner's birth with a new room showcasing his work and also said it would open a new video installation about Turner's travels across Europe, among other things. Every other year the gallery hosts a prize ceremony for a prestigious contemporary art award named after the painter which is awarded to a British artist annually.
