A previously unknown landscape painting by the celebrated Flemish landscape artist discovered in the UK, was sold for three times its estimate at auction last week.
The previously unknown painting had been brought in for evaluation at leading UK auctioneers Woolley and Wallis in August, and had been was consigned from the private collection of the Charrington family of Winchfield House in the UK.
Huge competition for the artwork saw clients from around the globe bidding for it. It finally sold to an international private collector on the telephone for £48,260 (€55.762) against a low estimate of £15,000 (€17.332).
The rare discovery marked a major addition to the work of Paul Bril. Depicting a coastal landscape, the painting encapsulates a natural harbour on the Mediterranean coast, with fishermen and merchants on the shore.
Commenting on the result, paintings specialist Ed Beer from Woolley and Wallis auctioneers paid tribute to Bril’s work.
The previously unknown landscape by Flemish master Paul Bril, discovered in 2025. Credit: Woolley and Wallis
"This outcome serves as a testament to the rigorous research conducted to authenticate this previously unpublished work by Bril, who was one of the most influential painters in late 16th/early 17th century landscape painting in Italy and Northern Europe," Beer said.
"We are thrilled that both its true value and the artist's exceptional skill have been recognised in the successful result achieved."
During the evaluation, Woolley and Wallis’ art specialists were quick to spot certain features which led them to the work of the Flemish master.
"The painting stood out straightaway as something special," said Beer back in August. "The coastal landscape had all the hallmarks of a work by Bril; the luminous skies, rhythmic composition and delicate atmospheric dept."
They contacted the Dutch leading expert on his work, Drs. Luuk Pijl, who after evaluating the work confirmed it as an original by Paul Bril, who he describes as "the most influential landscape painter of his generation."
