Lost Painting Sells For £200k

Thursday, 21 September 2023 11:32

A painting that was rediscovered in a Guernsey property after being lost for over 40 years has been sold at auction.

The oil sketch, called Willy Lott's House, by English landscape artist John Constable fetched £200 at a Guernsey auctioneers.

That's way above the estimated £80k - £100k.

It depicts the same property that features in Constable's most iconic painting the Hay Wain.

Picture Expert Johnathon Voak told Channel 103 that the painting was found in a terraced house in Guernsey in 2019.

"The former director of Martel Maides was the first to see the picture. It was in a dark corner of the house, and the family were told that it wasn't thought to be Constable.

A few years later the painting was brought into the auctioneers as part of the estate and that when I was shown it and was asked if I thought it could actually be Constable and immediately thought this needs to be researched."

He says it was an amazing feeling when the hammer went down.

"It's been quite a long story for me this painting, probably like four years, both in terms of research and getting authenticated by the experts.

It has been a long time coming, so the anticipation has been intense today." (21 September)