AN oil painting by
Southampton's
greatest artist,
which was sold for
£294 50 years ago,
is expected to fetch
close to £500k
when it is auctioned
next month.
Wedding Cards by Sir
John Everett Millais is
less than nine inches by
seven inches and shows a
young woman.
It was painted by Millais
in 1854 when he was in his
20s and takes its name
from the now largely forgotten
Victorian custom of
newly-weds sending cards
to their friends inviting
them to visit them at
home.
One of the bidders could
be musical composer Lord
Andrew Lloyd Webber, one
of Britain's richest men,
who already owns 11
Millais pictures.
The sale of the picture -
at Christie's in London on
June 5 - coincides with the
179th anniversary of
Millais's birth in Portland
Street on June 8, 1829.
The picture has changed
hands at least ten times
since it was painted more
than 150 years ago.
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Agnews, a leading firm
of London West End art
dealers, has bought the
painting four times over
the centuries - twice in
the 1800s and twice in
the 20th century.
More recently the
painting was owned by
Lord Blackford, who
died in April 1977; and
it has now been put on
sale by his trustees.
Just 50 years ago, on
June 6, 1958, the painting
was sold at
Christie's in London
for 280 guineas, or £294 in
modern money.
Since then the value of
Millais's work has soared
and at Christie's in
London on June 10, 1999, a
new world record for a picture
by Millais was set
when his painting,
Sleeping, sold for
£2,091,500. One of his most
famous paintings,
Bubbles, was used to promote
Pears soap.
Millais became one of
the most respected
painters of his era. His
importance as an artist
was confirmed on
December 18, 1863, when
he was elected to the prestigious
Royal Academy.
Since the Royal Academy
was founded in 1768, there
have been only 590 members
including Turner,
Constable, Gainsborough
and Reynolds.
At Millias's funeral his
pallbearers included two
earls, a viscount, a marquess,
two knights and former
prime minister, Lord
Rosebery.
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