Victorian portraits of port go under the hammer
A REMARKABLE series of watercolour paintings depicting Victorian Hull is to go under the hammer next week.
The five paintings are the work of York- born Tom Dudley ( 18571935), an artist who made visits to Hull in 1880 and 1881 to make his atmospheric records of life on the city’s streets and wharves.
Auctioneer David Duggleby said: “He trained as an architect before becoming an artist and he developed that eye for fine detail that is seen in the townscapes that were his great interest.
“In Hull he headed for the streets of the old town and the smaller wharves and quays, rather than the grand Humber waterfront with its great vistas and vessels in full sail.”
The paintings include one of Dudley’s best- known Hull pictures, a Princes Dock scene with St John’s Church, the Dock Offices and the Wilberforce Monument in the background.
Three of the watercolours, the old North Bridge over the River Hull, Hull’s oldest house in Dagger Lane and a Hull dock scene, were once part of the private collection of the Reckitt family. All five paintings have pre- sale estimates in the £ 300 to £ 500 range.
Elsewhere the Autumn Art Sale next Friday also includes one of the most famous paintings by well- known marine artist Henry Redmore ( 1820- 87).
The picture is Wreck of the Coupland, depicting the tragedy in which the Scarborough lifeboat was wrecked going to the aid of the schooner Coupland that had run aground on rocks close to the Spa wall in a fierce storm in November 1861.
Two members of the lifeboat crew lost their lives, as did several bystanders.
In total the auction extends to 281 lots, nearly half of which are Yorkshire paintings. The full auction catalogue is available at davidduggleby. com.