A COUPLE have told how they bought a £100 painting in a house sale without realising it was a lost masterpiece worth thousands.
The owners, from Suffolk, had hung the JMW Turner painting in their living room for 30 years.
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The married couple bought the artwork in the 1990s as part of a job lot of artworks at a Georgian mansion clearance.
The family decided to hang the painting at their dining room wall in their home.
But little did the family know they possessed a 19th-century treasure.
The painting was hanging in our dining room for over 30 years – we periodically discussed that the picture could be by Turner, but did not take it any further.
Owners
The £100 bargain find at a house sale turned into a windfall of nearly £50,000.
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The painting depicts the entrance to Bishop Vaughan’s Chapel in St David’s Cathedral and it boasts the “W Turner” sign at the back.
Despite the authenticity mark, the couple thought it stood for Joseph Mallord William Turner – who was a 19th century landscape artist.
The rare painting is the only finished architectural study by Turner of that subject.
HIDDEN TREASURE
One of the owners, who are remaining anonymous, said: “We bought it as a job lot of paintings from a house sale in Suffolks in the early 1990s.
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“The painting was hanging in our dining room for over 30 years – we periodically discussed that the picture could be by Turner, but did not take it any further.”
It was until the family visited Pembrokeshire in 2022 that they discovered the truth behind the painting.
Their curiosity sparked during a visit to St David’s Cathedral.
Why is JMW Turner such an important artist?
JMW Turner was a child prodigy and studied at the Royal Academy of Arts from 1789, when he was just 14.
Turner opened his first gallery in 1804 and became a professor of perspective at the Academy in 1807 and lectured there until 1828.
But one of the main reasons he was so unique was because he liked to paint live, from observation, “en plein air”, which means out in the open.
In Turner’s day such practice was a rarity as most artists would work in their studios.
He painted in all weathers, from misty sunrises to violent storms, with one famous story alleging that he once strapped himself to the mast of a ship – just so he could experience the feeling of waves crashing about him.
In addition to his ethereal landscapes, Turner also created darker paintings capturing moments in history, including Snow Storm: Hannibal and his Army Crossing the Alps.
He loved new technology, too, often painting steam boats and trains, which were quite a novelty in the mid 19th century.
They then rushed to the Tate Glore Gallery website only to find out a replica of the painting.
The lucky owner added: “After a trip to Wales in 2022, visiting St David’s Cathedral, our interest in our picture was rekindled. At this point we turned to the TATE Clore Gallery website and discovered the Turner sketch relating to our watercolour.”
The Tate’s archives in South Wales hold a similar but less developed drawing of the chapel.
Experts authenticated the 13in by 9.5in watercolour as a Turner original.
The valuable item has now gone under the hammer at Cheffins in Cambridge for a whopping price of £37,000.
ONE OF A KIND
Patricia Cross, from Cheffins, said: “This piece is a significant new discovery which provides a glimpse into Turner’s early development as an artist.
“It is a marvellous example of his architectural drawing in which he demonstrates his extraordinary attention to detail and his imaginative understanding of light and dark.
“It draws upon one of Turner’s first tours of Wales as a professional artist and would have been completed as a presentation piece for one of his patrons, back at his London studio.
“The discovery of this new addition to Turner’s early works alongside the resurfacing of the previously untraced watercolour of Chepstow dating to a similar period, which we sold last year for £93,000, shows that Turner’s early watercolours are increasingly coming to the fore.
“It is the true definition of an auction house ‘sleeper’, and we were privileged to have been able to offer it to the market.”
After his death in 1851, Turner left thousands of paintings and sketches behind.
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It comes as a family discovered a painting they’d owned since 1960s is actually a masterpiece that has been lost for a century.
The resurfaced painting is estimated to be worth £42 million – but it remains a mystery how the family obtained the art piece.
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