Lot 147: One of three pastels in the sale by Arthur Wardle, these two lovely Cairns been incorrectly identified as ‘Scotties’, but Bonhams think they will only fetch £600-£800

Back in 1999, Bonhams, moved their ever popular and innovative ‘Dogs in Art’ sales from London to New York, with a February date to coincide with the prestigious Westminster show.

This year sees the fifth such auction and they have been growing in stature and income ever since and now appear to be a firm fixture on the US calendar. Due to the high cost of shipping paintings to the US, Bonhams must have been in a dilemma when the very success of the sales started to draw in many vendors to submit works to the themed sale.

However this must have created a problem as what to do with the more "modest" lots, which probably were not worth the high cost of shipping to America? The solution has spun it’s self out successfully for British collectors as Bonhams simply decided to have a ‘Dogs in Art Part 2’ sale in London, the very day after the New York sale, Wednesday February 12. There are 80 dog paintings incorporated within a sale of British and Continental Oil Paintings, but the good news for UK collectors is that these are nearly all very affordable with estimates starting from as low as £150.

Naturally the ‘star’ lots have all been creamed of and shipped to New York, but the London sale will I am sure produce several "bargains" for those brave enough to take the plunge and place a bid. But don’t think that the paintings are all by unknown and obscure artists, there are some well known names too. For example, there are three lots by Mabel Gear (1900-1987), five lots attributed to the 19th Century artists, the Armfields, Edward (1817-1896) and George (1811-1887), three pastels by Arthur Wardle (1864-1949) and even works by illustrator Harry Roundtree (1878-1950) Ruben Ward-Binks (1880-1940) and Wright Barker (1864-1961).

Lot 154: It is indeed rare to find period paintings of Dobermann Pinschers so this unusual study by L Cheriot has to be worth a bid or two estimated at just £1000-£1500, it could be one of the bargains of the sale

But what about the breeds I here you ask? There are very few of the ‘usual’ Gundog/Hunting type scenes so loved by interior designers and no Foxhunting paintings. Most of the breed paintings are either head studies of whole body vignettes against simplistic backgrounds. Naturally the dimensions are as modest as the estimates, but many of us are running out of wall space anyway, so even this is a plus factor!

Some of the breeds I spotted include: Airedale, Bloodhound, Border Collie, Bulldog, Cairns, Chihuahua, Chow, Cocker Spaniel, Dachshund, Deerhound, Dobermann, English Springer Spaniel, Fox Terrier, Foxhound, French Bulldog, Golden Retriever Gordon Setter, Otterhound, Papillon, Peke, Pointer, Pomeranian, Retriever, Rough Collie, Schnauzer, Scottie, Sealyham, St Bernard and Westies.

But that is not all, tucked away in the "other" lots of British and Continental paintings you will find a few more paintings which contain dogs. Such as the painting featured on the cover of the sale catalogue, attributed to Paul Gaugain, which is a charming study of a young girl in a pink dress with her arm around a tan and white spaniel (Est: £4000-6000), or the equally charming oil by Albert Ludovici Jnr (1852-1932) of a lady in a dancer’s dress with a Lowchen jumping up at her (Est: £1000-1500). I feel sure that there are going to be a few late entries to the sale, so viewing is highly recommended.

Lot 112: One of the more expensive lots on offer next week at Bonhams is this study of a reclining Papillon by 19th century French artist L. Manouriez, is expected to fetch between £1000-£1500

Speaking of the catalogue, I feel I must mention that you must not expect the usual lavish production that Bonhams is so expert in producing and which indeed have become collector’s items in their own right. No, quite understandably, becoming their modest estimates the majority of the illustrations are only postage stamp in size, with only six meriting playing card size illustrations.

However this is also reflected in the price of the catalogue which is priced at a very modest £5- plus postage and packing.

Viewing of the sale takes place on Saturday February 9th (11am-3pm), Monday Feb 10th (9am-7:30pm) and Tuesday Feb 11th (9am-4pm). The sale is on view at the recently re-furbished Bonhams Montpelier Street, Knightsbridge salesroom, just a short walk from Harrods.

Additional information on the sale may be obtained from Bonhams in London on 020 7393-3900 or via fax on 020 7393-3905. The sale may also be viewed on the Internet thus: www.Bonhams.com

Lot 149: One of the few ‘named’ dogs in the sale is this rather lovely circular watercolour study of a Borzoi’s head ‘Michael of Brechqou’ by Eileen A. Soper (1905-1990),
signed and dates 1933, a snip if it sells for the estimated £300-£400