The gallery, which predominantly represented Northern England artists, was a lifetime of labour and love for the owners, who had been dealing in art since the 1960s.
Pictures include oils, watercolours, acrylics and limited edition prints, with subjects ranging from wildlife to rural scenes, industrial townscapes, maritime, Venetian landscapes and modern and contemporary prints.
The first 100 paintings and prints from the gallery will be sold in Halls Fine Art’s Pictures, Ceramics and Collectables auction at the company’s Battlefield saleroom in Shrewsbury on September 18.
There will be further items from the collection in the company’s Modern and Contemporary Art and Modern Design auction on October 23 – entries close of September 13 – and the Sporting and Wildlife auction on November 7 – entries close on October 4.
Artists featured in the collection include prints by Helen Bradley, Peter Schmidt, Richard Bawden, David Gentleman, who illustrated the Jungle Book. A large collection of paintings by John L. Chapman and Adrian Rigby, will be dispersed over the three auctions.
“The gallery was run by a couple since the 1960s and they specialised in works by Northern England artists,” said Abigail Molenaar, Halls Fine Art’s paintings specialist. “It was their life’s work and a real labour of love. We are privileged to have been asked to handle the collection and find new homes for all the paintings.
“Estimates for the paintings and prints range from £70 to £2,000 and there is a wide selection to suit most tastes.”