Lowry and his Rossetti prove top draws at 19th century art sales

A Pre-Raphaelite drawing once owned by LS Lowry drew lively competition at the latest round of 19th century art sales in London.

Extracted from Antiques Trade Gazette | ATG Reporter

Study of the painter Maria Stillman (née Spartali) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, a drawing owned by LS Lowry that sold for £340,000 at Christie’s.

Offered at Christie’s on July 11, the Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-82) head study of the painter Maria Stillman (née Spartali), overshot a £150,000-250,000 estimate and was knocked down at £340,000 (£419,250 with buyer’s premium).

Consigned direct from Lowry’s estate, the 19 x 14in (49 x 36cm) black chalk sketch was one of 17 works by Rossetti that Lowry purchased after retirement. It had recently featured at the Lowry & The Pre-Raphaelites exhibition that ran at The Lowry in Salford until February.

A further work from the same source was a female head study by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones (1833-1898) that sold at £50,000 against a £20,000-30,000 estimate.

The top lot of Christie’s Victorian, Pre-Raphaelite & British Impressionist Art sale was The Bramham Moor Hounds at Weeton Whin by Sir Alfred James Munnings (1878-1959) that came from the estate of George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood.

It fetched a mid-estimate £1.8m.