Paintings of pups are top dogs

PAINTINGS of pups proved to be top dogs at Moore Allen & Innocent's Selected Picture Sale in Cirencester on Friday (April 16).

Auctioneers were ast-hounded as a 19th century oil painting of a foxhound, which had spent many years in an attic and was more than a little rrrrruff round the edges, when the hammer fell at £4,200 against an estimate of £200 to £300 - artificially low because of the painting's 'dishevelled' condition.

The third highest price of the day was achieved by a 19th century painting of a terrier in the manner of Sir Edwin Landseer - a painter of repute and a sculptor whose works include the lions of Trafalgar Square. 'Awaiting his Master's Return' sold for £3,200 against a £1,000 to £1,500 estimate.

There were more dogs in the top five prices of the day. A pair of portraits attributed to the renowned canine painter John Emms carried estimates of £300 to £500 as auctioneers could not be certain of the signature. On the day, though, six dealers and collectors on the telephones were sure they were genuine Emms paintings, and Toiler the terrier, dated 1873, made £3,100 whilst a terrier head achieved £2,400.

The only painting in the top five sellers not to feature a dog was unusual in that it was a watercolour, rather than an oil painting, which tend to command the best prices. However, art-lovers were taken with so taken with 'A Gothic Palace Venice' by James Edward Southall, painted in 1921, featuring a gondolier delivering wine, that the hammer fell well beyond the £1,500 to £2,000 estimate at £3,400.

Elsewhere in the sale a five-volume copy of The Universal Pronouncing Dictionary and General Expositer of the English Language by Thomas Wright caused a shock when two book dealers pushed the hammer price to £2,400 - 20 times its £100 to £150 estimate.

Auctioneer Philip Allwood said: "There were some great results during the sale, demonstrating the buoyancy of the market at the moment."

To find out more about buying and selling at auction log on to www.mooreallen.co.uk

A 19th century oil painting of a foxhound, which sold for £4,200	'Awaiting his Master's Return' in the manner of Sir Edwin Landseer
A pair of portraits attributed to the renowned canine painter John Emms
'A Gothic Palace Venice' by James Edward Southall	The Universal Pronouncing Dictionary and General Expositer of the English Language by Thomas Wright