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A watercolour by William Heaton Cooper (1903-1995) of Derwent Water from above Lodore sold for £2300 at the October 24 auction.  The painting, signed and measuring 37.5cm x54cm, was the subject of fierce bidding in the auction room and by phone bidders. 

William Heaton Cooper is considered one of the most important landscape artists of the 20^th century.  His subject matter was almost always scenes from the Lake District where, except for a period spent in an experimental commune in the south of England, he spent his life.  The aesthetic merit of his paintings rely on an unusual combination of technical observation—Heaton Cooper was well-known for his extensive knowledge of the structure and geography of the Lakeland Fells—and a spiritual dynamism stemming from the artist’s beliefs. 

 Two watercolours by Noel Harry Leaver (1889-1951) sold above estimate.  Signed and labelled, Lagoon, Venice (36cm x 25cm) sold for £780 and Sunny Skies (25cm x 36) for £760.  Both paintings are excellent representatives of the artist’s favourite scenes i.e. hot climates with vivid blue skies at the borders of Europe, Asia, and Africa. 

 We were pleased to offer two lots by WL Wyllie (1851-1931) in this sale.  Wyllie’s work forms part of the collections of the Tate, the Royal Academy, and the Imperial War Museum.  Lot 228 was a black and white etching Cleopatra`s Needle and London Bridge, signed in pencil, 28cm x 39cm and sold for £410.  Lot 227 was a set of four black and white etchings, Our Fathers, to the Memory of the nameless Killed and Wounded with accompanying verse by Captain Rowland A Hopwood, all signed in pencil, each 33cm x 22.5cm.  The set sold for £320.