Lincoln Fine Art Auction – The first two lots

By William Gregory MRICS Golding Young and Mawer.

At the recent Lincoln Fine Art Auction the first two pictures to be offered set the scene for one of the most successful art sales to be held by Golding Young and Mawer. Both pictures were consigned from the same vendor and came with impeccable provenance.

The first was by the French artist Henri-Jules-Jean Geoffroy. Born in Marennes, western France, in 1853, he went on to study in Paris and later was commissioned by the Ministry of Education to produce artworks depicting childhood and learning within the French social system.

The oil on canvas was titled Going to School and was typical of his work, capturing the excitement and apprehension of a young girl’s first day at school.

The picture was originally purchased by the vendor’s family at a Christie, Manson and Woods auction in 1925 and was sold with its original catalogue. Offered for sale at the 2020 auction with an estimate of £3,000-£5,000 the hammer fell to a telephone bid of £5,500.

The second picture at the auction was by William Logsdail, one of Lincoln’s most critically acclaimed genre and portrait artists. Born in the city in 1859 he attended both Christ’s Hospital School and The Lincoln School of Art before finishing his studies in Europe. The Usher Art Gallery holds a number of his works.

Titled The Gardens of Eastgate House it features Lincoln Cathedral in the background. The combination of local artist and scene attracted a great deal of pre-auction interest and this was further enhanced as it was sold with its original auction catalogue, having been offered at the Christie, Manson and Woods auction on 5th February 1926. This auction featured goods from Alfred Shuttleworth, another well known Lincoln personality.

The estimate of £1,500-£2500 was quickly passed through a combination of internet and telephone bids and then a traditional two-bidder contest in the saleroom. It eventually sold to a local collector for £3,800.

Full results of the 398 lot auction can be viewed at goldingyoung.com.

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