According to the British newspaper “Daily Mail,” a portrait of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher that was purchased at a Tory fundraiser 18 years ago has sold for £43,750. The oil painting was expected to fetch just £800 at an auction of the contents of Chelham Castle in Kent, which belonged to the late Tory financier and donor Stuart Wheeler.
Margaret Thatcher’s headshot
However, a 23.5″ by 19.5″ painting ended up fetching more than 50 times that much at Dreweatts.
Richard Stone, a royal artist who had painted portraits of the late Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother, created a 5-inch picture of Britain’s first female prime minister.
When Wheeler, the painting’s owner, passed away in 2020 at the age of 85, he left a will that directed the proceeds from the sale of his £15 million mansion to a charitable organisation.
This week, his family sold the cottage’s belongings.
According to Joe Robinson, director of home and private collections sales at Dreweatts, “Margaret Thatcher continues to be one of the most iconic individuals of the 20th century with relatively very few completed portraits and still a great following.” Richard Stone was a well-known painter who made a name for himself as the youngest person to ever be awarded a royal commission.
You won’t believe how much a painting of the first British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sold for.
About Author
