Whitby Harbour painting by Weatherill fetches £9,600 at lockdown auction

It was a Yorkshire collector who paid the top estimate for Weatherill’s atmospheric ‘Whitby Harbour with sailing vessels and steam paddle boat’ at the David Duggleby auction.

A large Staithes Group section of 39 paintings also attracted strong bidding.

The Harvest Field by Ernest Higgins Rigg made £3,100 and his Mending the Lobster Pot went for another £1,800.

A local collector paid £1,700 for Arthur Friedson’s painting of haymaking above Runswick Bay and Whitby Jet Worker, a watercolour by Albert George Stevens sold for £950, almost double the top pre-sale estimate.

Fine Art Auctioneers David Duggleby are reporting that lockdown sales are proving a spectacular success, attracting huge levels of interest - and bidding from as far away as Hong Kong.

Both of the auctions that have taken place since the introduction of the second national lockdown have achieved way over expectations – despite being staged with an almost empty saleroom.

Managing Director Will Duggleby said: “The only people present in the room during these sales are the auctioneer and a clerk on the rostrum with the computer screens, plus the socially distanced team handling telephone bidding.

“There are no buyers in the saleroom. It is quite strange but the number of people following the auctions on line has been astonishing.

"The Autumn Art Sale, which took place just one day after the start of this latest lockdown, pointed the way things would go.

"The results were amazing - lot after lot matched or topped the most optimistic pre-sale estimates."

Lockdown is providing David Duggleby with captive audiences both in this country and abroad.

"The number of people who are viewing online catalogues, making enquiries and registering to bid has massively increased," said Will.

“We have also invested heavily in our online marketing systems.

"We’re extremely pleased with the way they are working and the results they are achieving.

"We are feeling very confident as we enter a very busy time of the year with no fewer than eight major auctions in the next few weeks covering everything from toys and jewellery to art, antiques and collectables.”

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