AN OIL painting by Hampshire artist Montague Dawson, bought by an American dentist in 1950 for £350, has sold for £134,500 at an auction, nearly double what it had been expected to fetch.

Flying Spume – the Adelaide, once owned and treasured by Dr Robert Alexander, sold for £134,500 at Bonhams in Knightsbridge, in London.

Before the auction, it was expected to fetch between £60,000 and £80,000.

The late Montague Dawson used to live at Smugglers House, Hythe, on Southampton Water, before he moved to Milford on Sea, where he bought a 1930s house, Hurst, overlooking the Solent.

He is now acknowledged as one of Britain’s finest 20th century marine artists and some of his paintings have sold at auction for hundreds of thousands of pounds.

As reported by the Daily Echo, Dr Alexander’s purchase of the 20in by 30in painting meant the family, including his four children aged nine to 13, could not have a television set.

Dr Alexander, a life-long sailor and sailing ship enthusiast, died at the age of 104 in 2012.

Montague Dawson died at the Western Hospital, Southampton, on May 21, 1973 and was buried at Boldre Church, near Lymington.