Canaletto painting that belonged to Britain’s first prime minister to sell for over £20m

Christie’s is to sell a view of Venice by Canaletto which was once owned by Britain’s first prime minister, Robert Walpole, in its Old Masters evening sale on 1 July. It is estimated to make in excess of £20m.

Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day (1731-32) was last sold at the Paris auction house Ader Tajan in 1993, the first time it had appeared at auction in over 250 years. It set a record for an Old Master painting sold at auction in France and was bought by the Parisian collector who has owned it until now.

The 1993 consignor later sold the works’ pendant, Grand Canal from Palazzo Balbi to the Rialto, at Sotheby’s in London in July 2005, where it made £18.6m (with fees)—the record price for a Canaletto and one that the Ascension Day painting is now set to beat.

Back in 1993, the painting’s connection to Walpole was not known. It was the art historian Oliver Millar (1923-2007) who discovered that both works once hung in the parlour of 10 Downing Street, thanks to a reference in a 1736 manuscript catalogue of paintings held at the residence, where Walpole lived from 1735 to 1742). The paintings are also mentioned in the 1751 auction catalogue from when Walpole’s son, George Walpole, sold the pair at Langford’s in London for £34.13. They subsequently passed through various private collections in England before alighting in Paris in the 1960s.

It is not known when or how Walpole bought the painting and its pendant, but it is likely to have been through connections made by his son Edward when he was sent to Venice in 1730 to 1731 to buy paintings for Downing Street.

Andrew Fletcher, Christie’s global head of the Old Master department, tells The Art Newspaper that the Ascension Day scene is, in his opinion, the best Canaletto in private hands. Its appeal is multi-faceted, Fletcher says: “One, the date of execution—the early 1630s are acknowledged as Canaletto’s finest period, and this one is from 1631-32. In terms of the level of skill, there is not a better moment in his entire output. Two, the view—I would say there’s no more famous view of Venice than the Molo from the Bacino di San Marco, with all the great sights of Venice from the Doge’s Palace to the Bridge of Sighs, the Campanile, the Salute. Three, it depicts Ascension Day, so you’ve got the Bucintoro on its annual outing anchored in front of the Piazetta, and all the hustle and bustle of the festival. Four, it’s in unimpeachable condition. And five, the provenance—Walpole was not only the first Prime Minister, but he also built one of the greatest collections of art ever formed.”

In short, Fletcher says, it’s “easy on the eye and instantly recognisable.” The painting is also bigger than any other Canalettos to come on the open market in the past 20 years, at 86cm by 138cm. As it comes to auction with a house guarantee, Venice, the Return of the Bucintoro on Ascension Day will make a new pound sterling record for the artist, beating its pendant. Might the owner of the pendant be interested in buying this painting too? “It’s owned by someone who I’m sure would love to have this too, so who knows,” Fletcher says, enigmatically.