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Unknown Canaletto artwork expected to fetch up to £60k at Oxfordshire auction
Overview
A previously unrecorded artwork by the 18th-century Venetian artist Canaletto is set to be auctioned by Mallams in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, with an estimated value of £40,000 to £60,000. The drawing, titled Ruins of a Pavilion and an Arcade over the Water, is a capriccio created with pen, brown ink, and light grey wash on paper. It has been kept in the same family since it was thought to be acquired by the Georgian composer Charles Burney.
Key points
- A previously unknown work by Canaletto is going under the hammer at Mallams auction house in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.
- The rare capriccio artwork is estimated to sell for between £40,000 and £60,000 on 21 October.
- Art historian John Rolfe described the drawing, titled Ruins of a Pavilion and an Arcade over the Water, as a masterpiece.
- The piece was created using pen, brown ink, and a light grey wash on paper.
- The artwork is believed to have been acquired by Georgian composer Charles Burney and passed down through his family.
- An inscription on the back suggests the piece was once given as a gift by the artist.