# Samuel Bough artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/samuel-bough/
Profile generated: 2026-05-02T12:14:35.253Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1822-01-08
- Death date: 1878-11-19
- Nationality: English, Scottish
- Movements: Victorian-era British landscape painting
- Common media: oil on canvas, watercolour

## About Samuel Bough

Samuel Bough (1822–1878) was an English-born painter who built his reputation in Scotland as one of the leading landscape and marine artists of the Victorian era. Born in Carlisle, he moved north and spent much of his career in Edinburgh, where he became known for atmospheric coastal views, harbour scenes, and sweeping Scottish landscapes. He worked in both oil and watercolour, and his topographical subjects—particularly dramatic seascapes such as Bass Rock after a Storm—earned him recognition among contemporary collectors. The Tate, the National Galleries of Scotland, and other public collections hold examples of his work. Bough died in Edinburgh at the age of 56, leaving a substantial body of landscapes and marine paintings that continue to circulate on the art market.

## Common works and media

Collectors most frequently encounter Bough's oil paintings and watercolours depicting Scottish coastal scenes, harbours, shipping, and inland landscapes. Titles recorded in authority files include works such as The Bass Rock after a Storm, Baggage Waggons Approaching Carlisle, and Askham Mill. Marine subjects, topographical town views, and pastoral landscapes are all well represented in his output. Works on paper in watercolour or wash appear alongside larger canvases, and unsigned or lesser-documented sketches occasionally surface at regional auctions.

## Market and appraisal context

Samuel Bough maintains a well-established secondary market with 111 recorded auction lots in the Appraisily dataset (64 with realised prices), spanning sales from 2002 through April 2026. The price distribution is wide: realised prices range from approximately £45 at the low end to £73,892 at the top, with a median of £550 and an upper-quartile threshold near £2,040. This dispersion reflects the material divide between minor works on paper (watercolours, pencil sketches, pastels) and significant oil paintings of sought-after Scottish marine and coastal subjects. Major international houses—Christie's, Sotheby's, and Bonhams—have offered Bough works, alongside respected UK regional specialists such as Lyon & Turnbull, Roseberys, Chiswick Auctions, and John Nicholson's. Recent liquidity is modest but steady: three lots appeared in the trailing twelve months and one in the prior twelve months, indicating a consistent if low-volume market. The highest recent recorded price was USD 16,000 at Brunk Auctions (September 2023), likely for a substantial oil, while smaller watercolours and sketches routinely sell in the £130–£750 range.

## Auction-house-backed market evidence

Samuel Bough maintains a well-established secondary market with 111 recorded auction lots in the Appraisily dataset (64 with realised prices), spanning sales from 2002 through April 2026. The price distribution is wide: realised prices range from approximately £45 at the low end to £73,892 at the top, with a median of £550 and an upper-quartile threshold near £2,040. This dispersion reflects the material divide between minor works on paper (watercolours, pencil sketches, pastels) and significant oil paintings of sought-after Scottish marine and coastal subjects. Major international houses—Christie's, Sotheby's, and Bonhams—have offered Bough works, alongside respected UK regional specialists such as Lyon & Turnbull, Roseberys, Chiswick Auctions, and John Nicholson's. Recent liquidity is modest but steady: three lots appeared in the trailing twelve months and one in the prior twelve months, indicating a consistent if low-volume market. The highest recent recorded price was USD 16,000 at Brunk Auctions (September 2023), likely for a substantial oil, while smaller watercolours and sketches routinely sell in the £130–£750 range.

### Appraisal notes

Appraisily would use the 111-lot auction record index to establish comparable-sale benchmarks for a submitted Bough work. The appraiser would assess the work's medium (oil on canvas or panel versus watercolour, pastel, or pencil), dimensions, subject matter (Scottish coastal/marine subjects command premiums; topographical river or pastoral scenes are mid-range; minor sketches and studies are lower), signature and dating (many lots cite signed and dated examples, which strengthens attribution), condition (Victorian-era works on panel and canvas commonly show craquelure, relining, or fading), and provenance (gallery labels, exhibition history, or prior collection records noted on verso—several recent lots cite Pearson & Westergaard or other gallery provenance). Because no modern catalogue raisonné is available, the appraiser would rely on expert connoisseurship and cross-reference with published literature (Bénézit, Witt Checklist, Harris & Halsby). The wide price spread means medium, size, and subject are critical determinants: a small unsigned watercolour sketch may realise under £200, while a large signed oil of a recognisable Scottish harbour or the Bass Rock can reach five figures.

### Valuation factors

- Medium: oil paintings on canvas or panel consistently command the highest prices; watercolours and works on paper trade at a significant discount
- Subject matter: Scottish marine scenes, harbour views, and coastal subjects (especially Bass Rock, Scottish fishing villages) are the most commercially desirable
- Size and scale: larger oils attract disproportionately stronger bidding; small panels and works on paper cluster below £500
- Signature and dating: signed and dated works attract stronger prices and easier attribution; unsigned works or those titled only on verso require additional verification
- Provenance: gallery labels, exhibition history, or prior public-collection provenance measurably increase value
- Condition: Victorian-era works may show craquelure, relining, fading, or toning; condition reports materially affect estimates
- Attribution risk: without a catalogue raisonné, works outside Bough's typical subject range or style should be examined by a specialist
- Currency and market: Bough's primary market is the United Kingdom; GBP-denominated sales dominate, with occasional results in EUR, USD, CHF, CAD, and AUD from international houses

### Collector notes

- If you own a Samuel Bough work, the strongest resale results come from signed oil paintings of recognisable Scottish coastal or marine subjects. Watercolours and smaller works on paper are more common at auction and tend to sell below £500, so expectations should be tempered for those categories. Retaining any labels, receipts, or documentation of provenance will help at resale. If you are considering a purchase, verify attribution carefully—several recent auction lots are unsigned or identified only by labels on verso, and the absence of a catalogue raisonné means specialist examination is advisable, especially for works estimated above £1,000. The market is liquid enough that comparable works appear regularly, but volume is low (roughly 3–6 lots per year recently), so patience may be needed to find the right comparable or buyer.

### Market caveats

- Of 111 recorded lots, only 64 carry realised prices; the remaining 47 either did not sell or the price was not reported, which limits the reliability of price-distribution statistics.
- Recent annual volume is low (3 lots in the trailing twelve months, 1 in the prior twelve months), so median and percentile figures should be interpreted as long-run averages rather than current-market indicators.
- No catalogue raisonné exists for Samuel Bough. Authentication depends on expert connoisseurship and published reference works (Bénézit, Witt Checklist, Harris & Halsby Dictionary of Scottish Painters).
- Prices span multiple currencies (GBP, EUR, USD, CHF, CAD, AUD); comparisons across currencies are approximate and do not account for exchange-rate fluctuations over the 2002–2026 observation window.
- The £73,892 maximum price is an outlier that likely represents a museum-quality or historically significant work; most Bough oils trade well below that figure.

### Market evidence sources

- undefined: https://appraisily.com/api/scraper-search/artists/samuel-bough/seo-profile?recentLimit=24&relatedLimit=0
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-samuel-bough-carlisle-1822-edimbourg-1878-175-c-d0575b517a
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-samuel-bough-1822-1878-the-return-of-the-fisheries-oil-on-canvas-dated-1869-896-c-5ae55db82b
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-samuel-bough-3026-c-30b428a855
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-samuel-bough-2185-c-dbd449a8bf
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-samuel-bough-british-1822-1878-untitled-a-giant-tree-watercolour-signed-and-dated-1864-lower-centre-42-x-57-cm-framed-70-x-155-c-b474c84a33
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-samuel-bough-1822-1878-dingley-dell-melrose-1871-oil-on-panel-9-5-h-x-14-5-w-1112-c-594474bab2
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-samuel-bough-533-c-bf64eceabd
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-samuel-bough-rsa-british-1822-1878-the-river-avon-oil-on-panel-signed-and-dated-sam-bough-233-c-d5c4735945
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-samuel-bough-rsa-british-1822-1878-eel-traps-on-the-thames-and-a-river-landscape-with-a-man-f-216-c-eec4a62a31
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-samuel-bough-1822-1878-british-a-head-study-of-a-dog-oil-on-board-signed-and-dated-july-28-1842-8-75-x-1411-c-f79437db8b
- undefined: https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot-samuel-bough-1822-1878-british-three-pencil-sketches-harbour-scene-with-boats-5-5-x-9-14x23cm-boats-1175-c-a824b29bf6

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine identity research from museum records, library authority files, and biographical references with auction-house context, sale dates, realised prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Samuel Bough, sources include the Tate artist record, the Library of Congress Name Authority File, the RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History, VIAF, and Wikidata, supplemented by the Appraisily auction database of over 1,100 recorded lots.

## Sources

- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr91039946
- RKD Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/11379
- Tate: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/samuel-bough-43
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/51548919/
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2218022
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Bough