Photo by Charles Hopkinson, courtesy Charles Beddington Ltd., London

Charles Beddington

Courtesy Charles Beddington Ltd.

Hyacinthe Rigaud's 17th-century portrait of the sculptor Martin Desjardins, a grisaille on paper, mounted on canvas

Canaletto Martin Desjardins Hyacinthe Rigaud Francisco Zurbaran Auction Sees Record Result in Washington, D.C., Area Florence Antiques Fair Fit at 50 William Noortman Fabrizio Moretti

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What was your standout sale of the season?

I sold seven things at Maastricht this year, but the most interesting was a Pietro Belotti view of the Piazza San Marco from the 1740s that went to a British collector for six figures. Belotti is one of my pet artists, and I’m probably the only person who sells him. He was sort of forgotten until I published a few articles about him.

What was the best picture at Maastricht this year?

Zurbarán’s Founding of the Order of Mercy, circa 1628, at Galerie Eric Coatelem of Paris was unquestionably the showstopper at the fair. It is a major rediscovery, a picture no one had ever seen. I don’t think it sold, though. Coatelem was asking a hefty sum, and pictures weren’t selling at particularly hefty sums at Maastricht this year.

What should have sold at your gallery but hasn’t yet?

I’m still negotiating several things that I brought to Maastricht, but [the one that] attracted the most interest was a Hyacinthe Rigaud grisaille oil sketch depicting the sculptor Martin Desjardins. I still have to do some more background work on it before selling it for in the six-figure range.

Is there a picture in a museum that you’d like to live with?

Canaletto’s Riva degli Schiavoni, from the 1730s, in Sir John Soane’s Museum in London. It’s arguably Canaletto’s greatest achievement and arguably the greatest Venetian view painting.

What should collectors beware of?

The market in Venetian views is rather ridiculous, because [they’re] basically copies of Canaletto. They could be from the 18th or the 19th century, and they tend to sell extremely well at auction for prices that are much higher than you would pay for a perfectly genuine work by a lesser-known artist.

"Charles Beddington" originally appeared in the June 2009 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's June 2009 Table of Contents.