Western Morning News (Saturday)
Wootton oils and jewellery up for auction
MICHAEL Bowman’s September 24th auction at Chudleigh Town Hall will feature a dramatic view in oils of World War II fighter aircraft, painted by the leading aviation artist, Frank Wootton (1911-1998). A native of Hampshire, Wootton applied to join the RAF, but was instead enlisted as a war artist. The 19” x 24” canvas on offer shows Hawker Typhoons taking off from a Normandy airstrip in August, 1944 and is estimated to sell for between £800 and £1,200.
The artist’s talents were by no means restricted to aircraft, for he also excelled at equestrian art and is highly regarded for his landscapes. A smaller oil also on offer by the artist, is a landscape view on the South Downs of Berwick, Alciston & Firle Beacon.
For Wootton, this would have been a local scene and appears to have been one of his favourites. The
landscape looks for bids of £600-900.
A 1920’s opalescent glass vase by Rene Lalique in the ‘Champagne’; pattern stands 6.5” high and has hopes of £800-1,200. It bears the early engraved signature ‘R. Lalique, France’ to the footrim. The name for this rare pattern might possibly derive from the fluted shape of the conical projections that cover the sides in three bold rows.
A substantial jewellery selection is led by a 4 carat Burmese sapphire & diamond three stone ring, estimated at £12,000-18,000 and a diamond necklace containing 12 carats diamond weight in total, which asks for bids of £6,000-9,000. Further down the price bracket, a 10 carat yellow sapphire & diamond cluster ring should fetch at least £2,000-3,000 and a Colombian emerald & diamond cluster £1,500-2,000.
The sale is on view Friday evening 23rd September between 4pm and 7:30pm and again from 10:30am on Sale Day. Enquiries tel 01626 324071 www.michaeljbowman.co.uk