Third sell-off of Hertfordshire County Council’s art brings total proceeds to £470,000
The council – which started to build-up the collection in 1949 – took the controversial decision to sell off or give away the bulk of the artworks in 2017.
And the last of the pieces earmarked for sale went under the hammer at an auction on Thursday (May 23).
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Hide AdAccording to county bosses the artworks, initially purchased to be loaned to schools, had become less relevant to an evolving curriculum.
And the authority no longer had the resources to properly conserve the many pieces that were in storage.
Money raised through the three auctions will be used to improve the condition of remaining items and increase public visibility of the county council’s nationally significant sculptures.
The council council’s executive member for education, libraries and localism, Cllr Terry Douris, said: “We have appreciated the interest that buyers have had in the sale of the artworks.
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Hide Ad“Now that the auctions are over, we can look towards the restoration of our retained pieces, and improving accessibility for the public so that everyone can start enjoying these pieces.”
Overall the artwork to sell for the highest price was John Tunnard’s Brandis 44.
This sold for £37,000 – well over its estimate of £10,000 to £15,000 – at the first of the auctions at Cambridge-based Cheffins auction house, in March.
In later auctions estimates for the majority of artworks ranged between around £30 and £200 – and were seen as more “affordable”.
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Hide AdAnd following the third auction, on Thursday (May 23), associate at Cheffins Fine Art Brett Tryner said: “We have been delighted with the way the selected works from the Herts County Council collection have sold and all lots offered found new homes.
“The final sale of the collection was the more affordable pictures in the collection, but demand was still strong on the whole.”
Aside from the 450 pieces that have been sold at auction, the county council has retained a “manageable” collection of 167 works that are said to be “notable or local important works”.
This includes works by notable Hertfordshire artists, inducing John Akers, Rory J Browne, Barbara Hepworth, Mary Hoad, Henry Moore and David Stowe.
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Hide AdAnd it includes the four most valuable items in the council’s collection - with an estimated value of £21.86million.
Meanwhile other pieces from the collection are being offered to schools, museums and other interested local organisations.