London – A Black and White Spaniel Pointing by George Stubbs that had been considered lost sold for £252,300 at Bonhams Old Master Paintings sale in London on 6 July. It had been estimated at £200,000-300,000. The 71-lot sale made a total of £1,589,000.
Lisa Greaves, Bonhams Head of Old Master Paintings, said: “Although Stubbs made his name as a painter of horses for the grandees of racing and horse breeding, he developed an equally lucrative career as a painter of dogs – often as commissions from the aristocratic owners of the horses. This was a wonderful example of his dog painting and a great rediscovery.”
Other highlights of the sale included:
Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden by the Master of the Embroidered Foliage (active in Brussels and Bruges 1480-1510).The unusual name of the artist was coined in the 1920s. Subsequent research has shown that the Master’s works were created by a variety of artists from different workshops across Flanders, rather than by a single artist. This work is one of three very similar paintings – differing in details only – derived from the Hugo van der Goes altarpiece in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Sold for £806,700 (estimate£25,000-30,000).
A View of Kiel on the Scheldt with Antwerp beyond by Jacob Grimmer (Antwerp circa 1525-1590). This unpublished painting is related to the large View of Kiel with Antwerp beyond, dated 1578, in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp. Although different in size, the compositions are very similar and it seems likely that Grimmer received a commission to make a smaller rendition based on one of his masterpieces. The execution of the landscape elements but also the figures in the present painting are typical for Jacob Grimmer. A date in the 1580s is feasible for the present work. Sold for £69,600 (estimate £30,000-50,000).
