A record for the ‘English van Gogh’
Colin Gleadell reports on a rare drawing by Samuel Palmer selling for 10 times its estimate in New York
Aluminous ink drawing by the 19th-century British romantic artist Samuel Palmer, described by art historian Kenneth Clark as the “English van Gogh”, was the surprise winner at last week’s Old Master drawings sales in New York. Selling for nearly 10 times the estimate at a record $2.4million (£1.7million), the contemplative view of shepherds in a wooded glade is thought to have been bought by New York-based billionaire Leon Black, who has previously purchased drawings by van Gogh and who, in 2012, paid $120million for Edvard Munch’s The Scream.
The Palmer drawing was from the 1820s-1830s – the artist’s most sought after period, most examples of which are now in museums – during when he worked at Shoreham, in Kent. The ink drawing in question was the first example of the rare monochrome drawings he produced during that period (Palmer called them his “blacks”) to appear at auction for more than 20 years. It had previously appeared at auction in 1977 (the year British forger Tom Keating was arrested for creating fakes of Palmer’s Shoreham work), when it sold at Sotheby’s New York, together with a print, for $1,000. “In those days, no one knew anything,” recalls the buyer, UK print dealer Hilary Gerrish. Gerrish then sold it to another dealer, Stephen Somerville, who sold it for £12,500 in 1979 (“a lot of money for a drawing in those days,” says Somerville) to US collectors Howard and Saretta Barnet, whose children were the sellers last week.
The flagship 20/21 British Art Fair has been sold to art dealer Robert Sandelson and his brother, Johnny, a property financier and art collector, who plan to relocate, revitalise and expand it. As of September, the fair will move from the Mall Galleries to the Saatchi Gallery on a five-year agreement. Twentyone years ago,
Nicholas Serota opened the fair by commending the quality of art on display but suggested that a larger space would be beneficial. Dealers are already expressing enthusiasm. Jonathan Green, director of gallery Richard Green, said: “The move is very exciting. It brings the fair right to the doorstep of many of our collectors.” Fellow dealer Jonathan Clark, who represents the estates of prominent artists including Ivon Hitchens, Kenneth Armitage and Eduardo Paolozzi, plans to return to the fair after an absence, as does Offer Waterman, who opened his Mayfair gallery three years ago with a display of early David Hockney drawings. The fair will be staged over the ground and two upper floors of the Saatchi Gallery, with ample room for up to 50 stands. The Sandelsons emphasise that the cost per square metre will be considerably less than at major London fairs such as Frieze Masters or Masterpiece, so galleries that deal in less expensive art will be able to show. Rebranding as “The British Art Fair” to allow a more flexible dateline for well-curated displays of pre-20th-century art, they are also aiming to attract more contemporary art galleries.
When Christie’s closed its South Kensington branch last summer, one of the main questions being asked was where all that business would go and could the staff take it with them? Well, last week, Chiswick Auctions held its first Old Master sale, run by Melissa van Vliet, the former head of Old Master sales at South Ken. A noticeable aspect of the sale was that Chiswick had access to outside experts who could verify attributions or identify heraldic signs, which they did not have before. It wasn’t a big sale but it was a start, with most lots estimated under £6,000 and selling.
And later this month, Mark Wilkinson, who during his 30-year tenure at Christie’s originated “Out of the Ordinary”, will stage his first Out of the Ordinary for Sworders auctioneers, in Essex. Categories include funfair items, film memorabilia, transport objects, and one for witches, warlocks, monsters and mysteries.