![\"arthur_wardle_a_fairy_tale_all_seemed_to_sleep_the_timid_hare_on_form_d5701810h\"](\"http:\/\/www.christies.com\/lotfinder\/lotfinderimages\/D57018\/arthur_wardle_a_fairy_tale_all_seemed_to_sleep_the_timid_hare_on_form_d5701810h.jpg\")
Arthur Wardle\u2019s “A Fairy Tale “<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today\u2019s sale of Victorian and British Impressionist works of art once again illustrated my point that there are far too many mediocre works of art coming to the market and buyers are being very selective.\u00a0 However, like all the recent sales, when the right work\/works appear with the right estimates, amazing results can be achieved.\u00a0 This was another sale that falls into my category of: what a difference a painting can make.<\/p>\n
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Taking the top position here was a large watercolor by Burne-Jones (the Pre-Raphaelite artist) that sold for an over-the-top price of \u00a313.2M (\u00a314.8M\/ $22.1M – with commissions) and crushing its \u00a33-\u00a35M estimate.\u00a0 In second was Millais Sisters<\/i> at \u00a32M (\u00a32.3M\/$3.4M \u2013 with commissions), just making its \u00a32-\u00a33M estimate and in third was Leighton\u2019s sculpture An Athlete Wrestling with a Python<\/i> which made \u00a3410K (\u00a3494K\/$735K \u2013 with commissions), beating its \u00a3250-\u00a3350K estimate \u2026 all three were auction records.\u00a0 Rounding out the top five were Millais\u2019 Portrait of Lady Campbell<\/i> at \u00a3400K (\u00a3482K\/$728K with commission \u2013 est. \u00a3400-\u00a3600K) and Arthur Wardle\u2019s A Fairy Tale<\/i> at \u00a3280K (\u00a3482K\/$728K with commission \u2013 est. \u00a3150-\u00a3200K) … the latter making another auction record.<\/p>\n
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Along with these great results were a number of works that did not find homes. Among those were Armstrong\u2019s A Girl Watching a Tortoise<\/i> (est. \u00a3150-\u00a3250K), Landseer\u2019s Merry Trick & Mark Hall\u2026<\/i> (est. \u00a3200-\u00a3300K), Watts\u2019 Portrait of Laura Gurney\u2026<\/i> (est. \u00a360-\u00a380K), Lady Butler\u2019s To the Front\u2026<\/i> (est. \u00a370-\u00a3100K), Herring Senior\u2019s The Gamekeeper\u2019s Shack\u2026<\/i> (est. \u00a360-\u00a3100K), Ansdell\u2019s Going to the Lodge\u2026<\/i> (est. \u00a3100-\u00a3150K) and other works by Riviere, Sharp, La Thangue, Munnings, Harvey and Seago (they had 10 Seagos in the sale and 4 were unsold \u2013 just too many for one summer sale).<\/p>\n
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Of the 123 works offered only 71 sold (57.7%) and the total take was an amazing \u00a319.36M (\u00a322.2M, $33.5M, with the buyer\u2019s commissions) \u2013 the presale estimate range was \u00a310.1-\u00a315.6M. According to the auction room, this was their highest total ever for this category. \u00a0Digging a little deeper we find that the top 10 works brought \u00a317.2M (\u00a319.5M with commissions) or about 90% of the sale\u2019s total. In addition, the number one lot \u2013 Burne-Jones\u2019s Love Among the Ruins<\/i> \u2013 accounted for 66.9% of the sales total \u2026like I always say, what a difference a painting (in this case a watercolor) can make.<\/p>\n
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Now I know they are all excited about the overall results for this sale, but let\u2019s be real; without the Burne-Jones this sale would have fallen far short of expectations.\u00a0 Removing that one lot from the sale would have resulted in a presale estimate range of \u00a37.2-\u00a310.6M and the sale would have grossed \u00a35.2M.<\/p>\n
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It is really time to trim the fat and reduce the number of sales.\u00a0 Small and stronger sales are the way to go.<\/p>\n
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