# Alfred Fontville de Breanski artist context and auction value notes Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/alfred-fontville-de-breanski/ Profile generated: 2026-05-06T20:15:00.000Z Quality: high confidence, strong sources ## Artist identity - Nationality: British - Movements: Victorian and Edwardian landscape tradition - Common media: oil painting ## About Alfred Fontville de Breanski Alfred Fontville de Breanski (1877–1957) was a British landscape, marine, and floral painter active from the early 1890s through the mid-twentieth century. The son of the well-known Victorian landscape artist Alfred de Breanski, Sr., he followed his father's path while developing a broadened range of subjects that included waterscapes, seascapes, architectural views, and genre scenes alongside traditional Highland and rural landscapes. He exhibited at the Royal Academy and the Royal Society of British Artists in London and worked chiefly in Surrey — in Dorking and East Sheen — and the broader London area. His paintings continue to appear regularly at auction, where collectors encounter both his landscape and floral compositions. ## Common works and media De Breanski is most commonly represented in auction and collection contexts by oil-on-canvas landscape paintings depicting the Scottish Highlands, Welsh countryside, and English Surrey region, often with lochs, rivers, or coastal views. He also produced floral still-life compositions, marine subjects, architectural townscapes, and small-scale genre scenes. Works range from intimate cabinet-size panels to larger exhibition-scale canvases. Signed examples appear frequently, though collectors should verify attribution given the naming overlap with his father. ## Market and appraisal context Alfred Fontville de Breanski has a well-established and liquid auction market spanning over two decades, with 219 catalogued lots and 157 priced results recorded between January 2001 and November 2025. His works appear regularly at both major international houses (Bonhams, Christie's, Sotheby's) and respected regional UK and international salerooms (Lyon & Turnbull, Tennants, Roseberys, Elstob Auctioneers, Adam's, Gorringes, John Nicholson's, Waddington's, Brunk Auctions, Canterbury Auction Galleries). Recent activity has picked up noticeably: seven lots sold in the trailing twelve months versus one in the prior twelve months, suggesting renewed collector interest. Realized prices range from as low as £5 AUD (for a colour lithograph) to £25,000 GBP for top-tier oil landscapes, with a median of £1,750 GBP and an interquartile spread of £875–£3,600 GBP. The strongest prices cluster around Scottish Highland loch scenes and Welsh mountain views — subjects closely associated with both de Breanski and his father. Italian sales at Pananti Casa D'Aste ( Milan) have achieved €5,500–€6,500 for large lacustrine landscapes, indicating continental European demand as well. ## Auction-house-backed market evidence Alfred Fontville de Breanski has a well-established and liquid auction market spanning over two decades, with 219 catalogued lots and 157 priced results recorded between January 2001 and November 2025. His works appear regularly at both major international houses (Bonhams, Christie's, Sotheby's) and respected regional UK and international salerooms (Lyon & Turnbull, Tennants, Roseberys, Elstob Auctioneers, Adam's, Gorringes, John Nicholson's, Waddington's, Brunk Auctions, Canterbury Auction Galleries). Recent activity has picked up noticeably: seven lots sold in the trailing twelve months versus one in the prior twelve months, suggesting renewed collector interest. Realized prices range from as low as £5 AUD (for a colour lithograph) to £25,000 GBP for top-tier oil landscapes, with a median of £1,750 GBP and an interquartile spread of £875–£3,600 GBP. The strongest prices cluster around Scottish Highland loch scenes and Welsh mountain views — subjects closely associated with both de Breanski and his father. Italian sales at Pananti Casa D'Aste ( Milan) have achieved €5,500–€6,500 for large lacustrine landscapes, indicating continental European demand as well. ### Appraisal notes Appraisily uses these 219 auction records as a comparable-sales baseline. For an individual appraisal, the system would match the submitted work against lot records filtered by subject (Highland loch, Welsh mountain, Surrey river, floral still life), medium (oil on canvas vs lithograph), dimensions, and auction house tier. A signed oil-on-canvas Highland landscape of exhibition scale (50 × 76 cm or larger) would be compared against the upper quartile of recent results (£1,800–£3,400 GBP at houses like Bonhams and Elstob). Smaller cabinet-size panels, floral subjects, and works without clear attribution to the son rather than the father would be compared against the lower quartile (£320–£875 GBP). The submitted work's condition, provenance documentation, signature verification, and any verso inscriptions or artist correspondence (such as the 1938 handwritten letter recorded in the Adam's October 2022 lot) would adjust the comparable range upward or downward. Multi-currency results (GBP, USD, EUR, AUD) are normalized for comparison. Edition prints and lithographs are excluded from the oil-painting comparable set. ### Valuation factors - Subject matter: Scottish Highland loch and mountain scenes (Loch Etive, Loch Fyne, Ben Venue, Glen Shield) and North Wales views (Betws-y-Coed, Snowdon) command the strongest prices; Surrey and English river scenes typically sell in the mid-range; floral still lifes and small genre scenes tend toward the lower end. - Size and scale: Exhibition-size canvases (50 × 76 cm and above) achieve higher results; cabinet-size panels and small works cluster below the median. - Attribution clarity: Works with verso inscriptions, handwritten artist letters, or unambiguous signatures confirming attribution to Alfred Fontville (Jr.) rather than his father, Alfred de Breanski, Sr., are easier to catalogue and tend to sell more predictably. - Auction house tier: Lots at Bonhams, Christie's, and Sotheby's carry stronger buyer confidence and often realize higher prices than equivalent works at regional salerooms, though regional houses can produce competitive results for well-catalogued pieces. - Condition and restoration history: As with all Victorian and Edwardian oil paintings, craquelure, relining, overpaint, and frame condition materially affect value. - Provenance and exhibition history: Documented Royal Academy or Royal Society of British Artists exhibition provenance enhances value. - Market liquidity: 157 priced lots over 24 years indicate consistent but not rapid turnover; collectors should expect holding periods rather than quick resale. - Currency and geography: Sales occur in GBP, USD, EUR, and AUD; GBP results dominate and provide the most reliable pricing benchmark. ### Collector notes - Budget range: Entry-level works (small panels, floral subjects, or lesser-documented pieces) can be acquired from approximately £300–£900 GBP at regional UK auctions. Mid-range Highland and Welsh landscapes typically fetch £1,000–£3,500 GBP. Top-tier exhibition-scale Highland scenes with strong provenance can reach £5,000–£25,000 GBP. - Attribution warning: Always verify whether a catalogue entry refers to Alfred Fontville de Breanski (Jr., 1877–1957) or his father Alfred de Breanski, Sr. (1852–1928). Some auction entries have miscatalogued dates (e.g., one Adam's lot listed the son's name with the father's dates). The artists' overlapping subjects and shared surname make this the single most common catalogue error. - Buying at auction: Bonhams and Lyon & Turnbull are the most frequent major-house sellers of his work; monitoring their British and European picture sales yields the best selection. Roseberys and Kinghams Auctioneers have been active recent sellers at accessible price points. - Death year discrepancy: Catalogue descriptions variously cite death years of 1945, 1955, 1957, and 1928 (the latter being the father's). Most authority files support 1957. Collectors should note this when assessing date ranges attributed to individual works. - Prints vs originals: A colour lithograph titled 'Sundown and Figure Walking Geese' sold for AUD 5 at Lawsons (February 2021), illustrating that print reproductions exist and carry negligible value compared to oil paintings. - Continental market: Italian auction house Pananti Casa D'Aste has achieved strong results (€5,500–€6,500) for large landscape oils, suggesting that European buyers compete for quality examples and that the market extends beyond the UK. ### Market caveats - The price distribution includes one anomalous low result (AUD 5 for a colour lithograph) and one high outlier (£25,000). The interquartile range (£875–£3,600 GBP) is a more reliable guide for typical oil-on-canvas works. - Attribution confusion between Alfred Fontville de Breanski (Jr.) and his father Alfred de Breanski, Sr. means some lots in this dataset may be misattributed, and some father's works may appear in searches for the son. - The artist's death year is disputed across authority files: Bénézit, LoC, and Wikidata record 1957, while AKLONLINE (cited in RKD) records 1945. One recent Lyon & Turnbull lot catalogued the death year as 1955. This affects how works are dated and may introduce classification errors. - Lot titles in the auction record are sometimes truncated, limiting subject identification without accessing the full catalogue entry. - Seven lots in the trailing twelve months is a small sample; pricing trends should be interpreted cautiously and supplemented with direct catalogue review. ### Market evidence sources - undefined: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/alfred-fontville-de-breanski/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0 - undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-alfred-fontville-de-breanski-british-1-310-c-9ed4e96b79 ## Appraisily data basis Appraisily artist pages combine identity research from library authority files and museum records with public auction records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For this artist, the identity profile draws on the Getty Union List of Artist Names, the Library of Congress Name Authority File, VIAF, RKD, and Wikidata. ## Sources - Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21288425 - Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500120874 - VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/96572837/ - Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nb2010030637 - RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/12207 - Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_de_Breanski_Jr.