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Thursday, March 18, 2010

World Records Tumble For Paintings By Stockport Artist At Bonhams Picture Sale In Chester


Pictures stored In attic for 20 years set saleroom alight!

Paintings by Stockport artist William Turner achieved world record prices at Bonhams Chester Picture sale on Wednesday 17 March.  William Turner, who was born in 1920, specialized in painting urban views based on the mills and streets of Manchester and Stockport. 

Bonhams offered five important paintings dating from the 1960s and 70s, which generated great enthusiasm from local buyers and collectors.  The top price of the day was £17,760 paid for a 1961 oil painting ‘The City’, purchased by a private collector. Three other paintings by Turner also attracted prices over £10,000.  The paintings were all purchased for small sums in the 1970s in order to brighten up and enhance a Manchester textile factory.  They have been in an attic since the factory closed about 20 years ago.

Bonhams auctioneer, Richard Hopkinson, commented after the sale: “I am amazed and delighted by the prices these works have achieved.  William Turner is one of the regions great painters - his work wonderfully conveys ordinary people’s slight bewilderment at the scale and noise of the city.   It is fantastic that his work is achieving the recognition it deserves.”

Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street, and Knightsbridge, and a further five throughout the UK. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Carmel, New York and Boston in the USA; Toronto, Canada; and France, Monaco, Hong Kong and Dubai. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 57 specialist areas. By the end of 2009, Bonhams had become UK market leaders in ten key specialist collecting areas. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, go to www.bonhams.com 

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