Canaletto painting found in Sussex up for auction at £150,000

An 18th Century Canaletto painting is set to be auctioned off, with a guide price of £150,000, after it was found in a house in East Sussex.

The oil painting hung in the property in Lewes for about 50 years, owned by a woman who was given the piece by her mother.

The owner died last year and her family decided the sell the piece.

Giovanni Antonio Canal, known as Canaletto, was from Venice and painted views of the city, London and Rome.

The piece, titled Venice, The Dogana from the Bacino di San Marco, is a small work at just 11in (28cm) high.

It is believed to have once formed part of a larger picture.

Philip Taylor, of Gorringes Auction House, saw the picture while carrying out an evaluation of a number of goods at the late owner's home.

"It was the finest house I've seen in Lewes, the owner knew exactly what she had with this Canaletto and she had a great many other antiques, about 80 of which we will be selling. But this is by far the most valuable."

It was bought in 1920 from London art dealer Arthur Tooth and Sons, for about £100 - 200.

With inflation that is about £5,000 - £10,000 today, however Mr Taylor said: "In real terms that's not a helpful estimate, given you could buy a family home for £50 in 1920.

"You could say it equates to more like £200,000 - 300,000 today."

He said it is "incredibly rare" to have a Canaletto for sale, and in recent years his works have sold for millions of pounds.

Before ending up in Sussex, the piece was once the property of Auguste Châtelain.

He was a 19th Century doctor, Rector of the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland, and passionate historian who owned at least one other Canaletto.

The painting will go under the hammer on 28 September.

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk