Third sell-off of Hertfordshire County Council’s art brings total proceeds to £470,000

More than 450 artworks from the county council’s art collection have been snapped up in a series of three public auctions – for a total of £469,282.

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).

According 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.

“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”.

And 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.

And 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.