Rare painting discovered at home of late arts patron sells for £450,000
A rare painting discovered at the home of a late arts patron has sold for nearly £450,000 – four times more than it was expected to fetch at auction.
The John William Godward "Poppies" painting was estimated to fetch between £100,000 to £150,000 at auction.
But auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull confirmed it was bought by a UK based private collator for a whopping £447,000 when it went under the hammer on Thursday.
The painting was part of collection left by Dr Cargill Thompson who died last October, aged 87, leaving her house and furniture to the National Trust for Scotland.
Dr Thomson worked at the Andersonian Library at University of Strathclyde as the head of the library's new reference and information division.
She left a treasure trove of contemporary art, books, and silver in her family home in the west end of Glasgow.
Her vast collection of contemporary art was to be auctioned off with all proceeds going towards an endowment fund at the University of Strathclyde.
Among the artwork was the Godward paining, said to have been in 'very good condition'.
Johnwilliamgodward(18611922) was an English painter whose style saw him grouped with the pre-raphaelites – but was said to have fallen out of favour with the rise of modern art.
Experts said it was difficult to give a precise value for the painting as it had not been in circulation for some time but said it drew a huge amount of interest at auction.
Nick Curnow, Lyon & Turnbull vice-chairman, said: "We are absolutely delighted with the result for John William Godward's Poppies, with presale interest and international phone bidding competition getting us to a final result of £447,000.
"Itisanexquisitepaintingand has been much admired since it initially came in for sale. Godward's approach may have fallen
out of favour in his lifetime but this level of quality and beautyendures,asdemonstrated by the result achieved today. In very good condition, we are
pleasedithasfoundanewhome withauk-basedprivatebuyer."
One of Godward’s bestknown paintings is Dolce far Niente (1904), which was
purchased for the collection of Andrew Lloyd Webber in 1995.