Telephone bidding battle lifts James Bateman’s view of the South Downs to £30,000
A dramatic bidding competition for a wartime farming scene by James Bateman (1893-1959) came at the latest sale held at Littleton Auctions in Worcestershire. Estimated at £3000-4000, ‘Ploughing the Downs’ was eventually knocked down at £30,000, a house record for the saleroom.
Before the sale, the auctioneers were expecting the picture to draw interest – it had been valued at…