J.M.W. Turner, R.A. (1775-1851) Storm at Sea (£150,000-250,000), courtesy Christie's Images Ltd., 2012. (Click to enlarge).
The Golden Age of British watercolours will be celebrated at a single owner sale at Christie’s in London in July. The collection and stock of W/S Fine Art and Andrew Wyld (1949 – 2011) will be offered in two parts, at King St. on July 10 and at South Kensington on July 18. The sale of around 400 lots is expected to realise between £1.5 million and £2 million.
The Golden Age encompasses the great age of landscape watercolour painting in Britain from 1750 to 1850. Wyld was a connoisseur renowed for his discerning eye with a gallery in Mayfair. The sale represents a roll call of artists of the Golden Age, including John Constable, David Cox, John Robert Cozens, Peter de Wint, Thomas Gainsborough, and J.M.W Turner. The crowning glory of any collection is a work by Turner. Storm at Sea appears to be the first idea for Turner’s major oil painting Staffa, Fingal’s Cave exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1832. Another highlight is Cozens Rome from the Villa Mellini, a precursor of the Romantic movement in British art. A number of works by George Romney include an oil portrait A Mother and Child Reading.
The sale will offer vibrant and immediate topographical views of regions from London and its environs, to East Anglia, Yorkshire and Northumberland to Scotland and Wales. It encompasses views of France, Germany, Italy, Egypt, Greece and Turkey. Estimates range between £500 and £250,000.
John Robert Cozens (1752-1799) Rome from the Villa Mellini Watercolour (£100,000 –150,000), courtesy Christie's Images Ltd., 2012. (Click to enlarge).
George Romney (1734-1802) A Mother and Child Reading (£100,000-150,000), courtesy Christie's Images Ltd., 2012. (Click to enlarge).