Clevedon Salerooms is delighted to announce the Spring Fine Art Sale on March 14th will feature an original watercolour by His Majesty King Charles III.
The life of a Monarch is a hectic one. Juggling affairs of State with Buckingham Palace garden parties leaves little time for relaxation but, as the saying goes, everyone should have a hobby. Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II famously had a love for the turf but did you know that King Charles has been painting—chiefly landscapes—for nearly fifty years and describes himself as an “enthusiastic amateur” artist? Of this pastime, he says “Painting transports me into another dimension which, quite literally, refreshes parts of the soul which other activities can't reach.”
The King’s passion for visual art was cultivated from a young age. He learned to paint under the influence of Robert Waddell, a teacher at Scottish boarding school Gordonstoun, which was his father Prince Philip’s and his alma matter. He was later taught by British artists Edward Seago and John Napper. King Charles works exclusively with watercolour, which he says conveys an ‘almost “inner” sense of texture’. Despite his self-proclaimed amateur status, King Charles is an honorary member of the Royal Academy and the Royal Watercolour Society and says he prefers watercolours because they are quicker to finish so he does not have to keep his security detail waiting too long. The picture being offered at Clevedon is an unfinished watercolour study of Lochnagar, which featured in the 1993 television production of “The Legend of Lochnagar”. The watercolour features in the beginning scene, where His Majesty is working on the watercolour in his study when he is joined by a group of children. He then tells the children the story of the “Old man who went to live in a cave in the highlands of Scotland on a mountain called Lochnagar”.
This is a rare opportunity to purchase an original artwork by His Majesty. It is Lot 313 in the Spring Fine Art sale and carries an estimate of £10,000 to £15,000.
