Noel Coward paintings raise $2 million

Press, 20 February 1988, Page 13

Noel Coward paintings raise $2 million

NZPA-PA/AP London Noel Coward had another hit on his hands on Thursday night — 15 years after his death. The playwright and actor also dabbled seriously as an artist, and 36 of his paintings raised £785,000 ($2,048,850). Coward once fretted about how to dispose of his art and refused to sell during his lifetime, because he feared people would buy his paintings for their snob value. At Christie’s sale in London, works from his Swiss home collection fetched more than twice the value expected by experts and auctioneers. As Coward fever spread through Christie’s Great Hall, one bidder was even persuaded to part with $4698 for a paint-

ing advertising the sale.

Coward’s art will now hang on the walls of the stately homes of England, the United States and Australia.

The paintings, which had hung at Les Avants in Switzerland, were sold on behalf of the Noel Coward Trust, administered by his executor and friend, Graham Payn. The money will go to theatrical charities.

The bidders remained unknown but prices ranged from £55,000 ($143,550) for “People Before A Coastal Inlet,” Jamaica, down to £6050 ($15,790) for a picture of a red sailboat. Coward died in 1973 after writing 50 plays, 25 films, hundreds of songs, a ballet, poems and sto-

ries. He never tried to sell a painting but gave some away.

He liked bright colors and open-air views. Most of the pictures sold depicted people scenes in Jamaica, where he painted at his best and where he died at his vacation home.

Sir Winston Churchill, also an amateur artist, advised Coward to change from watercolour to oils because it was easier to cover up mistakes. Coward later switched to gouache because he had an allergy to oil paint.

Coward’s favourite, “Two Nuns,” a colourful beach scene, went for £46,200, ($120,582) too much for the best-selling author, Jeffrey Archer, who dropped out at £26,000 ($67,860).