The star lot in Bonhams 19th century European, Victorian and Impressionist Sale in London on June 23rd is Sir Alfred Munnings’ ‘Sketching at Wiston Bridge’, a portrait of his dear friend and fellow artist, Maurice Codner. Estimated at £150,000-250,000, the expressive work is a testament to the friendship between the artist and his sitter – and to Munnings’ masterly technique. The painting, one of three similar compositions of the same subject, was painted near the village of Nayland on the River Stour, and shows Codner painting en plein air at an easel. Munnings’ autobiography tells the story of how he and Codner first found the spot one September. The two had ‘walked in the heat from Nayland to Wiston. Plunging, stark naked, in and out of the river to cool ourselves…when round the bend came a large varnished punt with a colourful, summery party of

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