The relative unknown who’s suddenly soaring

An artist who lived and worked in Britain for 50 years without achieving great recognition was one of the stars of recent sales in Hong Kong. The minimalist, geometric abstractions of Taiwan born Richard Lin (19332011) were familiar in the Fifties and Sixties.

In 2002, he returned to Taiwan, but prices for his work in the West rarely exceeded £5,000. However, following an exhibition in Taipei in 2010, Asian buyers began competing for his work, with an auction record of £491,000 at Christie’s last week. The next day, another that went for $22,000 five years ago in Paris, sold for £491,000.

This month, several works are being sold in London’s Modern British art sales, with estimates from £20,000 at Bonhams to £80,000 at Christie’s.