The Lock at Sotheby’s
The Lock, one of John Constable’s most famous compositions sold for £9,109,000 at Sotheby’s London last night. It was painted c1824-25. The monumental landscape depicting the countryside of the painter’s “careless boyhood” was the highlight of the Old Master & British Paintings evening sale. It was retained by the artist in his studio until the end of his life. The auction totalled £22.6 million.
Alex Bell, Joint International Head and Co-Chairman of Sotheby’s Old Master Paintings Department said: “The Lock belongs to a small group of pictures that define Constable’s oeuvre and genius. The artist’s absolute mastery as a landscape painter is everywhere in the picture and this was reflected in the result achieved tonight. The painting was one of many museum-quality works presented in the sale, an unprecedented proportion of which were from private collections and came to the market for the first time in several generations. The combination of quality and freshness to the market are key in this field and certainly account for this evening’s strong results.”
As of last night Sotheby’s has sold $237,619,514 worth of Old Master and British Paintings worldwide in 2015.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for September 26, 2015).