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Artist’s Lifetime Work In Auction

An artist’s lifetime work of paintings of beauty spots around the country will be sold in a marathon day-long auction to be conducted by Surrey fine art auctioneers Ewbank on Thursday March 19.

The 1,600 watercolour and oil landscapes by Keith Burtonshaw are expected to raise more than £20,000 making the sale an attractive opportunity for buyers of highly decorative and attractive works at affordable prices. They show such areas of natural beauty as Scotland and the Scottish Highlands, the Lake District, the South Downs, the West Country and East Anglia, the Derbyshire Moors, the Yorkshire Dales, Kent, London and Surrey, all painted with sensitivity in an atmospheric style and quality.

Bachelor Keith Burtonshaw (1930-2008) was a highly competent self-taught amateur artist, influenced by Constable, Gainsborough and Reynolds. He was born and lived in Beckenham, Kent, the son of a train driver who worked hard to educate his son by sending him to Penge Grammar School. However, the boy was less than academic, although he did show a great aptitude for art. As a result, he spent many hours during his youth in libraries, studying the work of the masters in reference books and visiting galleries, viewing the work of established artists.

After school, a series of odd jobs was followed by a period in the RAF, during which time he trained as a pilot. He subsequently worked as a clerk in the Beckenham office of the Prudential insurance company, but painting was his life and landscapes were his lifelong interest. He toured the country, capturing the mood and atmosphere of his favourite views, his handling of light making his pictures both technically accomplished and charming. Watercolour was his principal medium, but the collection includes a number of oils.

Burtonshaw was a member of the British Watercolour Society, the London Sketch Club, the United Society of Artists, the National Society of Painters, and Bromley Art Society. He also exhibited at the Royal Society of Marine Artists and the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours in London. His work can be found in collections around the world but his pictures have appeared only occasionally at auction previously, making the Ewbank sale a unique opportunity for collectors.

Ewbank will sell the collection in lots comprising three or four works based on the regional subject matter. The watercolours will be sold in lots of three or four estimated at £40-60, while the oils on board will be sold in twos, each estimated at £50-100

The sale is on view on Saturday March 14 from 10am to 2pm; Monday March 16 from 10am to 5pm; Tuesday March 17 from 10am to 8pm and on the morning of the sale, which starts at 10.30am. The sale catalogue will also be available for viewing on the Internet at www.ewbankauctions.co.uk a week prior to the sale. For further information, please contact the auctioneers on 01483