A STRIKING painting from a famous Scarborough artist is causing a huge stir with enthusiasts.
The image of Yew Court, in Scalby, by John Atkinson Grimshaw, is for sale on the market for more than £150,000 with London-based dealers MacConnel-Mason.
Atkinson produced the image in the 1870s when he was renting accommodation in Mulgrave Place.
It is believed he was so entranced by the building he painted at least three pictures of the house.
Scarborough Art Gallery owns one of the oil paintings, with another in a private collection.
A spokesman for the West End art dealers lavished praise upon Grimshaw’s work.
They said: “Scarborough was a second home to John Atkinson Grimshaw from 1876 to 1879 and the picture portrays the house and High Street and the bright silvery moonlight of a full moon as a mother and child make their way home.
“It is a beautifully observed scene, the mother tilting her head towards the child as they converse holding hands.
“The light from the unseen moon gleams on the windows of Yew Court and bathes the road and garden walls.
“It is a particularly serene and tranquil scene characterised by Grimshaw’s extraordinarily detailed technique, unique quality of light and acute observation.”
During his time in Scarborough, Grimshaw lived in what he called his ‘Castle By The Sea’.
He died aged just 57, in October 1893.
He left just £973, 18s and 7d.
Alexander Robertson, a Grimshaw biographer, added: “He called his home Castle By The Sea after Longfellow’s poem and it overlooked the North Bay.
“Its builder and the occupant of The Towers along the road was Thomas Jarvis, a wealthy Scarborough brewer who was to be Grimshaw’s chief local patron.
“They had met as early as 1874 when Grimshaw painted The Old Gates, Yew Court, in Scalby, for him.”
The current world auction record for a Grimshaw work stands at £612,800, which was paid at Sotheby’s in London, in December 2006 for an oil painting titled, ‘Liverpool Custom House and Wapping’.
In July 2007, an oil painting of Whitby by Grimshaw sold for £524,000.
For more information about the Scalby painting, see www.macconnal-mason.com
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