Portrait by George III’s painter sells for £80,000

A PORTRAIT by 18th century artist Allan Ramsay, official painter to the court of George III, achieved £80,000 when it went under the hammer at the Moore Allen & Innocent Selected picture sale on Friday, April 11.

The Edinburgh artist was appointed principal ‘painter in ordinary’ to George III in 1761, and examples of his work can be found at the Scottish National Gallery, the Royal Scottish Academy and in the Royal Collection at Windsor. His portrait of the Duke of Argyll graced the face of Royal Bank of Scotland banknotes.

This portrait, painted on canvas, signed and dated 1753, featured Sir James Suttie of Belgone, Haddington, husband of Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Hew Dalrymple. It depicted Sir James in a red military jacket, probably of his privately-raised Troop of East Lothian Cavalry.

Carrying an estimate of £20,000 to £30,000, the hammer eventually fell at £68,000, or £80,000 when the buyer’s premium is added. It was sold to the London trade.

A watercolour by renowned equestrian artist Lionel Edwards made £6,500 (£5,600 hammer) against an estimate of £1,000 to £1,500. Irish Point to Point, featuring four horses and riders tackling a stone wall jump, was signed by the artist, one of the most popular illustrators of hunting and sporting subjects from the Edwardian period to the 1950s and known as the ‘grand old man of sporting art’.

A piece of erotic art by the famous 19th century artist Mihály von Zichy achieved a hammer price of £2,100, against an estimate of £1,000 to £1,500 and was bought by a telephone bidder in Russia.

Zichy was court painter to Czar Alexander II in 1856, but is most famous for his series of 40 studies of sex amongst the lower classes, entitled Love, of which this black, white and red chalk picture was a signed original.

The biggest surprise of the day was reserved for one of the latter lots of the day, a 19th century oil on canvas study entitled Palladian mansion with pond, a hat and a bucket on bank in foreground, two figures promenading in background. Estimated at £300 to £500 the hammer eventually fell at £4,600.

The next Moore Allen & Innocent sale is the Antique and General Sale, to be held at the Norcote salerooms, Cirencester from 10am on Friday, April 25. To find out about buying and selling at auction log on to www.mooreallen.co.uk or call 01285 646050.

One of the Love series by Mihály von Zichy
Irish Point to Point by Lionel Edwards	Sir James Suttie of Balgone, Haddington by Allan Ramsay