Artist’s anger over work she threw out now up for auction
WHEN a painter threw out some of her early artworks she thought that would be the last time she would see them.
So she was shocked to discover only weeks later that they are to be sold at auction and could fetch thousands of pounds.
The oil on panel works were painted more than 25 years ago by sought-after artist Heather Nevay.
The Glasgow School of Art graduate threw out the ‘very poor quality’ paintings after finding them in a cupboard during a recent clear-out.
However, rather than ending up in landfill, she claims two of the paintings are listed as lots in an auction with estimates of £1,200-£1,800 each.
In a Facebook post, she wrote: ‘I threw out three paintings which had been shoved in a cupboard when I moved at the beginning of September.
‘They were very old, very poor quality and I put them in the bins out the back of my flat.
‘Two of them are being sold at auction in Glasgow as some desperate took them out of the bin – covered in mess – and wiped them down.
‘The auction house framed them up and gave them madeup titles. They are very poor examples of my work and I’m horrified some poor chump is going to pay money for them .’
She added: ‘I contacted the auction house to let them know and they are j ust l ooking forward to making a sale. All I can say is, buyer beware.
‘ Lesson l earned – deface any trash.’
Glasgow auctioneer McTear’s appears to show the paintings on its website. Arising From Slumber shows a woman waking up and the other, Curiosity, features a woman in orange.
Alongside Arising From Slumber, it says: ‘Nevay uses symbolism to express ideas of heroism, weakness, fear and the shifting balance of human relationships.
‘Her paintings are mostly figurative, with colour being an important element of her work. They are held in private collec- tions worldwide.’ There is no mention of where the paintings came from or the vendor.
A spokesman for McTear’s said: ‘McTear’s has procedures to check the authenticity and ownership of paintings. We are concerned to hear there is a question mark over the provenance of this work and will be looking into the situation as a matter of urgency.’
Brush-off: Heather Nevay criticised auction sale