01/07/2024 General News
In recent years there has been a significant change of emphasis in the kind of fine art which has been most sought-after in the saleroom, wtrites Daniel Smith. For a long time, prices achieved by the ‘Old Masters’ were consistently ahead of what bidders were prepared to pay for modern art.
But in recent years, with the emergence of a new generation of collectors and enthusiasts, we have seen a definite increase in interest for contemporary works.
Famously, Van Gogh only ever sold one work in his lifetime, for which he received the princely sum of 400 francs (around £2,500 in today’s money). Given that a work by Van Gogh sold in 2022 for $117 million, you can see how undervalued he while alive!
We are more enlightened today, and tend to value contemporary artists much more during their lifetimes. Because of this Britain has a thriving community of painters, not least here in East Anglia, which has always been a hotspot for the visual arts.
Three times a year, as part of our Fine Sales at Keys, we run the East Anglian Art Sale, arguably the most important auction globally of works by artists working in our region. The next one is this month, and we are delighted to be offering works by many of East Anglia’s contemporary artists.
One such is Colin Burns, one of Norfolk’s greatest living artists. Born in St Olaves in 1944, and entirely self-taught, Burns was painting landscapes and sunsets by the age of seven, and by nine he was winning art prizes at school.
The biggest early influence on his artistic style was his parents moving to the countryside when he was 12; he found himself surrounded with bucolic landscapes and plentiful local wildlife. He became increasingly interested in portraying nature, and this is a passion which has stayed with him.
Burns didn’t start out as a professional artist. On leaving school at 16, he qualified as an accountant and went to work in Great Yarmouth. It wasn’t until he was 32 that he finally left that job to become a full time professional painter – the result of the enthusiastic response which greeted his first exhibition at the Tryon Gallery the previous year (1977).
Painting in both oil and watercolour, Burns’ subjects have been diverse, including London scenes and Scottish landscapes, but it is his East Anglian Landscapes and his wildlife paintings for which he is best known.
In the 1960s Burns was one of the youngest members of the Great Yarmouth Society of Artists, and became its chairman in 1982, a position he retained until 1994. He is also a keen member of the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, producing its Christmas card for over 40 years.
His paintings have always been very collectable, combining tremendous artistic skill with an easy aesthetic and accessibility. Keys’ Summer Fine Sale includes a number of his works, and the expected brisk bidding will show once again how lucky we are to have such a talented painter in our county – and how we have learnt to appreciate contemporary artists.
Keys; three day Summer Fine Sale, which includes the East Anglian Art Sale, takes place on Wednesday 24th, Thursday 25th and Friday 26th July. Full details at www.keysauctions.co.uk.