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Lights, Camera, Auction

June 13 General Auction Catalogue

The fully-illustrated online catalogue is now live 

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Criminally High Prices at Auction

Picasso once famously described painting as an ‘offensive and defensive weapon against the enemy’. A weapon indeed, but perhaps not the sort one might expect to be found in the hands of a convicted killer. Nevertheless, some might be surprised to hear that infamy and artistry have a long history of collaboration, and the industry even has a name; Murderabilia. Whether it be personal artefacts owned by criminals, or artwork created by them, the market for mobsters, gangsters and serial killers is thriving, with pieces selling for substantial sums at auction. 

One such work by Ronnie Kray, the younger of the now notorious Kray twins, considered by many to be the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in the East End of London by the 1960s, is now up for grabs in our next Fine Art and Antiques auction in March. Entitled ‘Charlie on Tractor’ it depicts Ronnie and Reggie’s older brother in a rural idyl, with Ronnie’s trademark white cottage painted in the distance - his notion of an ideal home. The style is naive, childlike even, a technique adopted by both brothers in their art, something which they embarked upon after their imprisonment for murder in 1969. 

Ronnie Kray acrylic on canvas, dated 1971, Parkhurst Prison
Titled to the reverse 'Charlie on Tractor' beside Ronnie's prison number 

The brothers are not alone in their pursuit, Michael Gordon Peterson, better known as Charles Bronson, and more recently Charles Salvador (in reverence to Salvador Dali) is also a keen artist. His darkly humorous paintings, drawings and poetry being both exhibited and sold during his tenure in prison. Used occasionally as part of psychotherapy, in some instances art can be deployed as a means of self-expression and communication, and as a result may be viewed upon as an insight into the criminal mind; studying what their subconscious prompted them to paint or draw. Although one must be mindful of over-indulging in cod psychology, as tempting as it seems. 

A drawing by Charles Salvador (Bronson) sold in 2014 

The criminal artist is certainly not a new phenomenon, Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) the Italian revolutionary painter was constantly in trouble for his aggressive ways on the mean streets of early 17th Century Rome, where sword fights were common practice. Inevitably he killed a man in a duel on a piazza and fled, and his subsequent works seem haunted by the shadows they populate. Richard Dadd, the 19th Century popular painter of fairy-folk produced many of his masterpieces whilst in hospital, receiving treatment for what the Victorian’s dubbed an ‘unsound mind’, now schizophrenia, following the murder of his own father in 1843. Today graffiti artists create masterpieces, their nature in pure defiance of the law, with Banksy making a career from stencilling places that he shouldn’t. A small part of his allure is driven by his anonymity, and his ability to evade capture and conviction, his real name rumoured to be ‘Robin Banks’ (ahem). He is the cloaked political artist of the day, or hi-viz should we say, given Banksy’s penchant for ‘hiding in plain sight’. 

Caravaggio David with the Head of Goliath, 1607 
Kunsthistorisches Museum Gemäldegalerie, Vienna

E.H Gombrich summed it up in the opening chapter of his seminal book The Story of Art, declaring ‘There is no such thing as art. There are only artists’. This is certainly the case when placing a value on art at auction, where you may hear the term ‘form’ banded about. This simply refers to the artist’s oeuvre, or body of work if you prefer, and the impact the artist has made on the world. That’s why my paint splashes don’t have quite the same gravitas as those produced by Jackson Pollock. 

At the end of the day the market is the ultimate arbiter, and in this case it has well and truly spoken.  Specialist websites for such material have sprang up in recent years, and in 2009 eight paintings by the Kray brothers sold for an astonishing £12,200 at auction. ‘Charlie on Tractor’ carries a more modest pre-sale estimate of £200-400 in our March 14th auction. 

GN

Banksy. Works by the artist can now fetch £20,000-40,000 at auction  

Bargain Hunt at Laidlaw

Closing Date for Entries

Friday 21st November is the closing date for entries to our forthcoming Christmas auction of Antiques, Collectors' Items & Fine Furnishings. 

This sale will take place on Saturday 13th December from 10 am. Viewing is Friday 9-5 with a champagne reception from 5-7pm. 

Keep posted for further updates as they happen. 

Lots of Appeal

In this month more than any other our thoughts are invariably drawn to remembrance, with paper poppies being pinned to all. It is a unique year, one in which we have reflected upon both the Centenary of the Great War, and so too 70 years since the D-Day landings. Last week I travelled like many others to see the ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’ installation at the Tower of London, created by ceramic artist Paul Cummins. Awe inspiring and sorrowful, the sheer scale of the work was a visual feat, reminding us plainly of the magnitude, cause and effect of War, both on the fallen and those they left behind.

In light of the times it is perhaps not surprising that insurance firms and auction rooms alike are reporting soaring prices for war memorabilia. Because we have all been touched by these events, there exists in nearly every home a personal story, a small collection of medals, or a stash of ephemera at the back of the bureau drawer. Equally, the demand for such is strong, with collectors’ searching for those fresh-to-the market pieces, articles that explore new stories, or simply fill a cavity in the collection. 

The latter could be said about our most recent dedicated military auction, which took place in September, wherein we sold an important lifetime’s collection of Royal Engineers material, predominantly in the form of badges and insignia, amassing a result of over £25,000 on the day. Aviation enthusiasts were similarity treated to two rare ephemera groups in that same sale. Firstly a Great War Royal Flying Corps photographic archive, assembled by an RFC technician involved in the development of aerial machine gun interrupter mechanisms (a device that stops the destruction of your own propellors as you shoot the enemy) which sold for £520, and secondly (perhaps my favourite lot ever sold) an important document group pertaining to RAF fighter ace Squadron Leader James MacLachlan DFO, DFC and bars. I wrote about this group in a previous blog entry called ‘High Flying Adored’, and I could have written a novel. It comprised flying log books, manuscript diaries and personal items belonging to the fighter ace, while the following lot in the same sale also saw items belonging to his RAF fighter pilot brother Gordon. All in all this complete story captured the audience and stole the show, selling for £7,700. While further on in the same auction an RAF Pathfinder uniform group comprising sheepskin Irvin flying suit, and tunic, sold for £680. It had been consigned by the family of the original recipient after enjoying a second wind; serving as a motorbike jacket to later generations. 

Sq Ldr James MacLachlan

Another blog entry back in September (‘Marked Most Secret: Operation Locksmith’) and another lot in this sale, was a rare SOE gallantry group awarded to Sergeant Thomas Handley. A moving story to say the least, it found a good second home with a collector of such for £10,000. 

While no-one is surprised when a rare gallantry medal sells for thousands of pounds, clients are more commonly taken aback at the value of apparently mundane items such as khaki uniforms and bayonets. More often than not, this is because khaki was used to destruction or disposed of shortly thereafter. Indeed in this same sale a rather moth eaten khaki tunic of a First World War Manchester Regiment sergeant sold for £500. 

Sgt Thomas Handley

While it’s not particularly hard to identify military equipment or clothing, frequently it is a specialist who can single out a rarity of pattern, use or date. Only last week a client walked into our offices with a rusty bayonet and no expectations as to value, while Paul recognised it as an extremely rare example carried by the Cambridge University volunteer infantry during the era of the Napoleonic Wars. Despite its condition, and because of this additional information, it is expected to sell for up to £300. 

Surprisingly perhaps, it is an all too-common occurrence for inherited pieces of reasonable value to remain camouflaged in familiar surroundings. From that bowl grandma uses for potpourri, to the two 18th Century hunting swords consigned to our forthcoming December 13th sale. Downgraded to fire pokers for a number of years, they are now expected to sell in the region of £500. Other such finds have recently included an 18^th Century Scottish Highland Regiment basket-hilted sword, from a shed, which sold for £820, and a group of Second World War Japanese trophy swords brought back by a soldier for the Scottish Borders and passed on through the family which sold for up to £3800 each. 

It is medals however which continue to produce the most moving and inspiring of stories. Already consigned to our forthcoming Christmas sale in December is a Military Medal group to a First World War Royal Army Medical Corps private. The recipient Frank Basnett volunteered in November of 1914, and in the May of the following year he embarked aboard the ship ‘The Royal Edward’ for Gallipoli. Unfortunately en route the vessel was torpedoed and sunk with the loss of over 1100 men, Basnett being one survivor. His diary remains and in it is his own account of the disaster. Later, while serving in France, he was awarded the Military Medal for bravery as ‘he was employed as a runner on the front line, and with total disregard for his own life he carried messages from one post to another for hour after hour under heavy fire. He also volunteered to work as a stretcher bearer with no consideration for his own safety or fatigue.’

Another relative, another story and another poppy to cast a thought upon this month. 

First World War Military Medal Group