Figure that out

AUCTION DATES

Golding Young, Grantham
Collective Sale, including Asian Art Wed 3rd Dec and Thu 4th Dec, 9am

Golding Young, Bourne
Collective Sale Wed 10th and Thu 11th Dec, 9am

Golding Young, Lincoln
Collective Sale Wed 17th and Thu 18th Dec, 9am

John Taylors, Louth
Christmas Sale of Gold, Silver, Jewellery, Watches & Gifts Tue 9th Dec, 10am

Robert Bell, Horncastle
Period & Modern Household Furniture & Effects, Wed 10th Dec, 9.30am

Unique Auctions, Lincoln
Christmas Auction, Fri 5th Dec, 10am

Stamford Auction
Rooms, Stamford Part 1: Wine, Whisky & Christmas Gifts. Part 2: Charity Auction, Fri 12th Dec, 10am

Please refer to the websites of each company to see the most recent updates
on auction details


Words by:
By William Gregory MRICS, Golding Young and Mawer.
Featured in:
December 2025

By William Gregory MRICS, Golding Young and Mawer.

Figurative art in academic worlds may not always depict the human figure but in auction cataloguing terms, we like to say what we see.

The classic portrait has for centuries been a mainstay of figurative art, and at the recent Lincoln Fine Art auction there were a number of examples sold, including an 18th-century oil of Arabella Countess of Breadalbane, Grand Daughter to Sir Thomas Pershall.

The half-length portrait showed the sitter in a white lace dress decorated with pearls and blue floral ribbons. It also came with an inventory label on the reverse connecting the picture to Taymouth Castle from the Marquis of Breadalbane’s apartment at Holyrood Palace in 1860. The addition of provenance saw the picture bidding rise to £1,100.

This price was slightly bettered when another formal portrait catalogued as After van Dyck, with the sitter named as George Villiers Duke of Buckingham, sold for £1,200.

The auction also included the Studio Works of Alice Mary Fitzpayne, born in 1928. She was a student at Leeds College of Art, The International School of Art and Design, and the Royal College of Art where she met her husband, and artist, Erick Doitch (1923-2000).

The couple settled in South Lincolnshire in the 1970s and exhibited extensively, including with the Lincolnshire Artist Society.

Alice Mary Fitzpayne’s works were influenced by the people and events of city nightlife and those on the fringes of society.

The 88 lots sold totalled over £7,000, with an oil on board titled Pierrot clown and doll reaching the top price for an individual painting of £200, whilst a 19th-century figural mannequin from the artist’s studio achieved an outstanding £2,800.

Also offered was a sculpture by the Lincolnshire artist Peter Moss. The artist sadly died in 2024; Peter had been a leading light within Lincolnshire artists’ circles and is very much missed. The signature Kimono design sculpture, 33cm high, saw good competition and finally sold for £600 to a local collector.

Full illustrated results from the auction can be found at www.goldingyoung.com



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Grantham school joins Carol Service in celebration of town’s hospitalPupils from St Mary’s Catholic Voluntary Academy are taking part in the first Carol Service to celebrate the special relationship Grantham and District Hospital has with the town and surrounding communities.The school children will join in the singing of favourite Christmas Carols as well as perform their own set musical piece at the Carol Service on Thursday 11th December at 7pm, in St Wulfram’s church, Grantham.Deputy Head Teacher Olivia Mumford said: “The Carol Service is a fantastic opportunity for our pupils to share the joy of music while showing appreciation for the incredible work done at Grantham and District Hospital. It’s a privilege to support such an important event in our town."The Carol Service has been organised by United Lincolnshire Hospitals Charity, who work closely with staff at Grantham and District Hospital and provides those extras for staff and patients that NHS budgets are unable to fund. Further details on the Grantham NHS Carol Service can be found by visiting www.ulhcharity.org.uk/news/christmas-carols-at-grantham-st-wulfram-church-in-thanks-for-towns-sup... ... See MoreSee Less