LOWRY PICTURE IS STAR OF KEYS’ 20TH CENTURY DESIGN AND MODERN ART SALE

An artist’s coloured proof by L.S.Lowry was the star lot in a busy online-only 20^th Century Design and Modern Art Sale at Keys Auctioneers and Valuers in Norfolk, selling for £2,100, well above its pre-sale estimate of £1,000-£1,500.

The picture, ‘St Luke’s Church, Old Street, London, 1973’, an artist's coloured proof with publisher's blind stamp, published by G R Mellor, 1973, signed and numbered 176/850, was one of a number of 20^th Century artworks which sold above their estimates, at the auction house’s second 20^th Century Sale of the year.

Also selling well were ‘Landscape with Fence and Cottage’ by George Chapman, which sold for £580, more than double its estimate of £200-£250; a pen, ink and watercolour ‘Launch of the Sopwith’ by Sir Frank Brangwyn which sold for £900 (estimate £200-£250); and ‘Portrait of a Man Seated, Reading a Book’ by Albert Daniel Rothenstein, which sold for £300, five times its upper estimate of £60.

Mid-century furniture also performed well at the sale, with a Heals style limed oak tallboy selling for £600 (estimate £100-£150) and a mid-century teak cabinet selling for £330 (estimate £80-£120).

“These 20^th century sales bring a completely new set of buyers to the auction, and these tend to be younger bidders who are quite comfortable with an online-only sale,” said Tim Blyth, director at Keys.  “From an original one-off sale just two years ago, our 20^th Century Design and Modern Art Sales are now a regular and important part of our auction calendar, and a key plank in widening the appeal of the auction room to a wider audience.”

Keys’ next 20^th Century Design and Modern Art Sale takes place in September.