Rain, National Gallery by James Lawrence Isherwood – £980 at Fieldings.
Fieldings’ picture consultant William Lacey said he could remember a time 30 years ago when works by Wigan artist James Lawrence Isherwood (1917-89) could be bought for £30-40. But prices have risen steadily since the artist died in the late 1980s and, if you bought back then, you would be sitting on a good return, as a collection of eight lots at Fieldings on September 2 demonstrated.
They were consigned by a vendor who had acquired them direct from the artist and all bar two exceeded top estimate, making a combined £4840 (or average of £605 per work).