microrobert
09-03-2013, 04:46 PM
Postcard-sized landscape painting bought as part of £30 ‘job lot’ uncovered as Constable worth £250,000
A landscape painting bought in a £30 ‘job lot’ has been uncovered as a Constable worth £250,000.
The postcard-sized work was valued by art experts live on BBC Breakfast yesterday, in front of astonished owner Rob Darvell.
Mr Darvell, 45, was given the painting by his father when he helped him clean out his house last year.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/09/03/article-2409518-1B96C2F3000005DC-813_634x493.jpg
Causing a stir: The postcard-sized work was valued by art experts live on BBC Breakfast yesterday, in front of astonished owner Rob Darvell
He had bought it with a collection of other paintings at an auction in Canterbury a decade ago, after he saw a faint signature on its gold frame and suspected it might be interesting.
Art expert Curtis Dowling, who appeared on the BBC show to promote the upcoming series of Treasure Detectives, said: ‘It’s a Constable and it’s never been seen properly before, so it’s part of history, it will cause a stir and become a celebrity item.
‘A large section of the art world will be salivating to get their hands on it.’
Mr Darvell, a graphic designer from east London, said: ‘I was so nervous (before the valuation) that my heart was beating like crazy.
‘Now I’m in a state of shock. This news is everything I was hoping for and more.’
The painting depicts a landscape in summer with trees in the foreground and rolling hills in the background, set against a blue sky with a few white, fluffy clouds.
John Constable was a Romantic painter of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, who is most known for his landscape paintings of the Suffolk countryside.
One of his most famous works, The Hay Wain, was targeted by an alleged Fathers4Justice protestor in June.
A photograph of a young boy with the word ‘Help’ written on it was glued to the painting in front of lunchtime visitors at the National Gallery.
Paul Douglas Manning, 57, from Sheffield was charged with criminal damage.
A gallery spokesman said no lasting harm was caused to the painting.
Postcard-sized John Constable painting worth £250k uncovered in £30 lot live on BBC Breakfast | Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2409518/Postcard-sized-John-Constable-painting-worth-250k-uncovered-30-lot-live-BBC-Breakfast.html#ixzz2dqgPYwCT)
A landscape painting bought in a £30 ‘job lot’ has been uncovered as a Constable worth £250,000.
The postcard-sized work was valued by art experts live on BBC Breakfast yesterday, in front of astonished owner Rob Darvell.
Mr Darvell, 45, was given the painting by his father when he helped him clean out his house last year.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/09/03/article-2409518-1B96C2F3000005DC-813_634x493.jpg
Causing a stir: The postcard-sized work was valued by art experts live on BBC Breakfast yesterday, in front of astonished owner Rob Darvell
He had bought it with a collection of other paintings at an auction in Canterbury a decade ago, after he saw a faint signature on its gold frame and suspected it might be interesting.
Art expert Curtis Dowling, who appeared on the BBC show to promote the upcoming series of Treasure Detectives, said: ‘It’s a Constable and it’s never been seen properly before, so it’s part of history, it will cause a stir and become a celebrity item.
‘A large section of the art world will be salivating to get their hands on it.’
Mr Darvell, a graphic designer from east London, said: ‘I was so nervous (before the valuation) that my heart was beating like crazy.
‘Now I’m in a state of shock. This news is everything I was hoping for and more.’
The painting depicts a landscape in summer with trees in the foreground and rolling hills in the background, set against a blue sky with a few white, fluffy clouds.
John Constable was a Romantic painter of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, who is most known for his landscape paintings of the Suffolk countryside.
One of his most famous works, The Hay Wain, was targeted by an alleged Fathers4Justice protestor in June.
A photograph of a young boy with the word ‘Help’ written on it was glued to the painting in front of lunchtime visitors at the National Gallery.
Paul Douglas Manning, 57, from Sheffield was charged with criminal damage.
A gallery spokesman said no lasting harm was caused to the painting.
Postcard-sized John Constable painting worth £250k uncovered in £30 lot live on BBC Breakfast | Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2409518/Postcard-sized-John-Constable-painting-worth-250k-uncovered-30-lot-live-BBC-Breakfast.html#ixzz2dqgPYwCT)