A Radcliffe man has sold a collectable David Cox watercolour for over £18,000 at auction.
The 75-year-old retiree put the painting into auction after it sat in his personal collection for nearly 30 years.
After attracting international bids, the ‘lost’ artwork from the celebrated 19th Century artist was purchased by a UK bidderat Hansons Auctioneers’ January 2024 Antiques and Collectors Auction on 23 January for £18,368.
The seller, speaking to Nottingham Post, said: “I inherited a lot of artefacts from my mother 27 years ago and as we are downsizing we thought it sensible to meet Charles Hanson for professional advice as his company offers a very good service. I was delighted and surprised by the auction result, though I knew David Cox was a well known artist.”
The Landcaster Sands watercolour was initially given a low valuation at a local event last year. However, demand increased once word spread of the sought-after painting’s existence.
Speaking to Nottingham Post, Charles Hanson said: “Our client brought the painting to show me at one of the regular valuation events I host at Memory Lane Antiques in Southwell. It went to auction with a modest guide of £80 to £100 and sparked huge interest. We were flooded with requests for condition reports ahead of the sale.
“Because it had been in a private collection for so long it was, in effect, a lost David Cox painting. He is considered one of the greatest English landscape painters and a major figure of the Golden age of English watercolour. The subject matter, Lancaster Sands, also helped it excel together with its Agnews Gallery label. Agnews is a top London gallery, which indicates the painting’s importance.”
Born in Birmingham in 1783 and passing away in 1859, Cox was a pivotal figure among the landscape artists of the Birmingham School. Despite his origins in a family of a blacksmith father and a farmer’s daughter mother, Cox’s destiny seemed set for the metal trade. However, due to his physical limitations, his family redirected his path towards the pursuit of his artistic inclinations.
While renowned for his mastery of watercolors, Cox’s later career saw him produce over 300 oil paintings, an accomplishment now acknowledged as one of the most remarkable but underappreciated achievements in British painting history.
