LONDON.- Sotheby’s Made in Britain auction – the third sale of its kind, dedicated to celebrating the diversity and creativity of British art from 1900 to the present day - realised a total of £2,369,619, well above pre-sale expectations (est. £1,558,300-2,291,650).

Of almost 400 lots offered, 83.2% found buyers and over 60% of lots soared above their pre-sale high estimates. The sale was led by The Critic Laughs, a set of false teeth mounted on an electric toothbrush, by irreverent and witty founding figure of British Pop Art Richard Hamilton, doubled its pre-sale estimate to bring £97,500 (est. £35,000-45,000). Ten artist records at auction were achieved, including a record for the 1960s Brit Pop artist Clive Barker and photographers Lorenzo Agius and Angus McBean*.

The artworks presented in this sale illustrated the significant role that Britain played in the development of modernism internationally - across Fine Art, Prints, Sculpture, Photography, Studio Ceramics, and Design.

Robin Stewart, Modern & Post-War British Art Specialist, said: ‘The strength of today’s Made in Britain sale demonstrates the growing audience for the very best of British creativity. As the buzz in the saleroom reflected, we’ve seen consistent growth in the sale results in this category – for both the best known names as well as lesser known talents. It is particularly rewarding to see a rise in online bidding - with total spend online doubling from the last sale. While this is a sale of uniquely British arts, the offering was sought after by an extremely diverse geographical range of buyers hailing from right across the US, Europe, Asia, Middle East and Australia.”

Paintings
• Man Sitting in a Wheelbarrow by L.S. Lowry, a small-scale, intimate painting by one of Britain’s best-known and best-loved artists brought £87,500 (est. £40,000-60,000). The work was accompanied by Lowry’s original purchase receipt to the previous owner, to whom he sold it for £100 in 1966.

• Important early painting Tracey Emin, titled Untitled (Porchester Baths), sold for £18,750 (est. £5,000-7,000).

Ceramics
• Every Dame Lucie Rie piece offered found a buyer, totalling £165,750. This was led by the beautifully bright Footed Bowl, which achieved £23,750 (est. £6,0008,000). A distinguished private collection of her works was led by a yellow American bowl, which sold for £22,500 (est. £7,000-10,000).

• Hans Coper’s Large Spade Form sold for £36,250 (est. £18,000-25,000).

• A playful early Grayson Perry self-portrait plate from 1986 achieved £18,750.

Prints
• An extremely rare surviving example of one of Ben Nicholson’s experimental Profile linocuts printed in the 1933, Man and Woman, Heads in Profile sold for £18,750 (est. £6,000-8,000)

• Lucian Freud’s Painter’s Garden, an intense depiction of nature, sold for £37,500.

• Contemporary prints by Banksy and Damien Hirst achieved strong prices.

Michael Michaeledes Collection
• Works from the collection of the late artist Michael Michaeldes, an insight into the progressive art scene in 1960s London, totalled £309,976 (est. 134,800198,400).

• This was led by Robyn Denny’s Track 2, which sold for £47,500 (est. £10,00015,000).

• Study of Francis Bacon, No. 12 soared above estimate to achieve a record price of £27,500 for Brit pop artist Clive Barker.

• Strong prices were achieved for three sculptures by Bryan Wall.

Photographs
• Liam Gallagher and Patsy Kensit on the legendary ‘Cool Britannia’ cover of Vanity Fair in 1997, shot by Lorenzo Agius, sold for a record £9,375 (est. £4,000-6,000).

• The Angus McBean photograph that launched the career of film and fashion icon Audrey Hepburn more than doubled its pre-sale estimate to achieve a record price of £6,875.

• Kate Moss captured behind the lens of Chris Levine last year brought £6,875 (£4,000-6,000), along with an iconic photograph of the model by Rankin that brought £17,500.

Sculpture
• Two sculptures by William Turnbull, Head 1 and Study for Female Figure, sold for a combined total of £63,750 (est. £15,000-22,000).

Full List of Artist Records
• Clive Barker, Study of Francis Bacon, No. 12, £27,500 (est. £2,000-3,000)
• Peter Stroud, Three Double Blues, £17,500 (est. £1,500-2,000)
• Angus McBean, Audrey Hepburn, 1950, £6,875 (est. £2,000-3,000)
• Lorenzo Agius, Liam Gallagher and Patsy Kensit, 1996 (est. £4,000-6,000)
• Kathleen Guthrie, Red and White Construction on Grey, £3,000 (est. £500-700)
• Simon English, Wall 1, £6,000 (est. £1,000-1,500)
• Sølve Sundsbø, Lee Alexander McQueen, 2007, £1,375 (est. £800-1,200)
• Trevor Tennant, Bowmen, £13,750 (est. £1,200-1,800)
• Dorothy Annan, The Circus, £3,000 (est. £1,000-1,500)
• Keith Gillett, Cabaret Dancers, £938 (est. £600-800)