Victoria Beckham adds spice to Old Master sales

Colin Gleadell
Updated
Victoria Beckham at the Sotheby's exhibition - PA
Victoria Beckham at the Sotheby's exhibition - PA

Although there were no great collections on the block, Sotheby's and Christie's sold £100 million of Old Master paintings, drawings and watercolours last week, proving there is plenty of life in this market yet. About 20 artists' records were broken, and that figure would be more if the sculpture sales - which saw records in the millions for a neoclassical marble by Antonio Canova and a baroque bronze Ferdinando Tacca - were included.

There was only one theme to the questions on journalists' minds at the end of the Sotheby's paintings sale: did Victoria Beckham buy anything, and did the exhibition of selected paintings from the sale in her flagship Mayfair store give a boost to the Old Master market?

Betherlandish or South German School, late 15th Century, Portrait of Mary Burgundy, oil on oak panel - Credit: Courtesy of Sotheby's 
Netherlandish or South German School, late 15th Century, Portrait of Mary Burgundy. Estimate: £1,000,000-1,500,000. Sold: £2,050,000 Credit: Courtesy of Sotheby's

Sotheby's wasted no time in impressing us with the visitor numbers - some 8,350 in 11 days - though it was unable to say whether the publicity stunt had affected bidding. Certainly, the pictures Beckham had selected to exhibit were among the best sellers.

A 1630s portrait of a bearded Venetian nobleman by Rubens rose above estimate to sell for £5.4 million; an early 16th century portrait of a man in a spotted fur collar painted by Lucas Cranach hit a top estimate £2.4 million; and a profile of Mary of Burgundy in a coned headdress by an unknown Renaissance artist did likewise, selling for £2.1 million. Beckham's choice was symptomatic of the changing taste of our times, said George Gordon of Sotheby's.

At Christie's, two paintings back on the market proved that reasonable gains could still be made with Old Masters. A portrait by Ludovico Carracci, the early baroque painter, rose from $1.8 million (£1.4 million) in 2005 to £5.1 million; while a painting of the Holy Family by Gerard David, the early Netherlandish artist, rose from $1 million in 2003 to £4.8 million.

Joseph Mallord William Turner, R.A., The Lake of Lucerne from Brunnen - Credit: Courtesy of Sotheby's
Joseph Mallord William Turner, R.A., 'The Lake of Lucerne from Brunnen', Estimate: £1,200,000-1,800,000. Sold: £2,000,000 Credit: Courtesy of Sotheby's

Bargain of the week was probably the £2 million paid for JMW Turner's Lake of Lucerne from Brunnen, 1845. It is one of the greatest Turner watercolours not in an institutional collection, and compares with his The Blue Rigi, Sunrise, commissioned as a companion piece, which sold for £5.8 million in 2005.

That was bought by art dealer Simon Dickinson for an overseas client, but the export licence was stopped and Tate Britain raised the money to buy it. The buyer last week was art adviser Sara Pearce, who was bidding on behalf of a British couple who have no intention of taking it out of the country.