Mystery painting bought online for £53 linked to Wick masterpiece

A painting by an unknown artist bought on eBay for £53 turned out to be the work of Robert Anderson whose best known painting, critically acclaimed as a masterpiece, hangs in Wick Town Hall.

John Greene from the Irish town of Dun Laoghaire in South Dublin bought a watercolour online in April last year, despite it being sold as the work of an "unknown artist".

"I bought the painting on eBay around April 2020, " said John.

"I buy and sell a bit on there but this time I was looking at a painting up for sale that a friend of mine liked [and] he wanted my opinion on it."

John noticed a selection listed as "similar items" that showed up on the page and one image just "jumped out" at him.

"It was dirty and a bit spotty but I loved the subject, style and especially the composition. I couldn't make out the second name on the signature and the seller didn't know either. Anyway, I bid in the last few seconds and was delighted when I won the auction. I paid £53 for it."

After he received his purchase, John said he could not live with the original gold frame and mount which he felt took away from the picture so he changed them.

"I got advice from a man in the trade as to how to clean watercolours so I cleaned it up. I might add that I am a watercolour artist myself so I can appreciate the delicacy of the paper and pigments and I was extremely careful.

"That really brought the painting to life and I got it reframed, which I know will upset the purists, but I have kept the original mount and frame."

Then he started out on a "long crusade" to try and find who the artist was. The first name on the signature was almost certainly "Robt" but he found it difficult to make out the letters in the surname, which he initially thought could have been Dutch.

"I had whittled it down to two or three possibles including Robert Anderson but, on the few paintings [with] a clear signature, I hadn't found any which looked very similar."

Every so often, John would have another search online and then two weeks ago discovered a painting by Robert Anderson called "Fishing Boats off the Coast at Whitby" and he instantly knew by the style and composition that the mystery was finally solved.

Born in Edinburgh, Robert Anderson became a member of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1879. In 1880, he exhibited at the Royal Academy of London. Anderson was a sought-after etcher and watercolourist already during his lifetime. Among his favourite subjects are coastlines and fishing scenes.

John said: "I then started to try and find out more about Robert Anderson and came upon an article in the John O'Groats Journal and Caithness Courier about Robert Anderson's great-granddaughter visiting Wick to see his famous painting titled 'Wick's Black Saturday' commemorating the tragic storm in 1848 and which is hanging in the Town Hall."

On August 19 of that fateful year, 800 boats left Wick harbour for the fishing grounds. A terrible storm struck the northeast coast and the boats were trapped outside the harbour waiting for high tide to allow them safe passage to calmer waters. Many were blown onto the rocks or collided with other vessels while family and friends looked on from the shore in horror.

A total of 37 men belonging to Wick District drowned, leaving 17 widows and 63 children and 18 boats were lost. The total loss of life on the north east coast was 94 lives and about 30 boats with a total value of around £23,000.

Through contacting the Groat about the article, John was able to make contact with Robert Anderson's great-granddaughter, Jenny Chew, and her husband.

"I would really like to express my sincere thanks to both Jenny and her husband, Geoff, for their kindness in giving me so much information about Robert Anderson and his family."

He said said that Jenny was also delighted to hear about the discovery and would like to know the whereabouts of other paintings by her great grandfather.

Proving the provenance of the mystery painting will have pushed the value up quite a bit more than the £53 he paid but John intends holding on to it.

"The value is not of any great importance to me as I wish to keep and enjoy it for the years ahead. However, I would like to think that I have added to its value by cleaning it up and tracing the artist thus giving it some provenance especially as he is well-renowned."

Couple pay tribute to Black Saturday artist and lost fishermen

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