Antiques In Gloucestershire

Highlights of the 4th LAPADA Autumn Antiques and Fine Art Fair.

If the world is your oyster come and shop at The LAPADA Autumn Antiques and Fine Art Fair where you find everything under one roof from the most exotic to the very affordable, from £500,000 to a few hundred. Some of the most striking are highlighted below.

A painting by one of the best-loved artists of the 20th century, L.S. Lowry RA (1887- 1976), is the highlight of The LAPADA Autumn Antiques & Fine Art Fair at The Centaur, Cheltenham Racecourse from 11th to 14th October 2007. Priced at £500,000 The Mansion, Pendlebury is an oil on canvas, signed and dated 1944 by L.S. Lowry and is being shown at the Fair by Neptune Fine Art from Derbyshire.

Another very interesting painting is A Lady in Profile by John William Godward (1861- 1922) and believed to be a portrait of Lily Pettigrew, one of three sisters who were popular artists' models of the time. This painting is being sold for a price in the region of £100,000 by Saunders Fine Art of Solihull, West Midlands.

An unusually large (1 metre) bronze of a girl entitled Nature unveiling herself before Science, c 1890, by Louis Ernest Barrias (1841-1905) priced in the region of £58,000 from Garret & Hurst Sculpture. This piece won the Grand Prix at the Exposition Universelle in 1905.

Priced at £25,000 Books Illustrated from Salisbury are bringing a rare watercolour of The Little Sea Maid in pen and ink which was an original illustration by Harry Clarke for Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales, published in 1916.

A rare William de Morgan BBB vase in Persian colours, signed by Fred Passenger, c 1898 is being offered for sale by London dealer Sylvia Powell Decorative Arts at £25,000.

Local Gloucestershire dealers exhibiting at the Fair include Black Ink of Stow on the Wold who is bringing original graphics from some of the great artists such as Damien Hirst and Pablo Picasso available between £2,000 and 3,000 each. Kenulf Fine Art, also from Stow on the Wold, will be exhibiting a wide range of paintings and furniture. Woodward Antique Clocks of Cheltenham are bringing a stunning French carriage clock on a rose ground with a pair of matching vases by Japy Frères, c 1865 for £12,000.

Of local interest there is an attractive watercolour of Gloucester Cathedral painted by Noel Harry Leaver, ARCA, (1889-1951) for £3,500 from Lancashire dealer, Brunswick Gallery.

Due to popular demand BAFRA (British Antique Furniture Restorers' Association) are returning to demonstrate and discuss various restoration and conservation techniques and expertise for visitors for the duration of the Fair. This year BAFRA's stand will be decorated with a large collection of tools dating back to the 18th century and very typical of those still in use today. Demonstrations will include Persian rug and carpet conservation, leatherwork, gilding, oriental lacquer, work done at Kew Palace by member Rodrigo Titian, rare barometer and sympiesometer work, traditional leather tooling, marquetry, horological work, carving, sculpture and a host of other skills which many people today may be surprised are still practiced.

Illustrator Peter Malone and author Lucy Coats are signing copies of their book, The King Ocean's Flute, published by Orion, price £10.99 on Books Illustrated stand during the opening afternoon.

Opening hours are Thursday 12 noon-8pm, Friday 11am-5.30pm, Saturday 10am-6pm and Sunday 10am-5pm. Tickets cost £10 including fair catalogue and re-admission. On National Antiques Day, Friday 12th October, admission will be 2 for 1. There is a Charity Champagne Gala Reception on Friday 11th October 6pm-9pm in aid of HFT (Supporting People with Learning Disabilities), tickets available from 01367 850216. For visitor enquiries you can call 01797 252 030 or go to www.lapadafair.com.