A rare early work by a major British artist is expected to fetch up to £50,000 at auction.
The drawing, by Sudbury-born artist Thomas Gainsborough, will be sold at Cheffins Fine Art Auctioneers in Cambridge on June 24.
The 36.5cm by 51cm black-and-white chalk drawing depicts a Suffolk coastal scene with donkeys and pigs and dates from 1748, when Gainsborough was just 20 years old.
Art experts have given a pre-sale estimate of £30,000 to £50,000 for the piece.
The picture was bought by the current owner’s grandfather in 1944 and has not been on the open market since then, remaining in a private collection in Norfolk.
"This is a significant drawing which provides a remarkable insight into Gainsborough’s extraordinary skill in the early part of his career, a point when many of his studies were concentrated on the fields and woodland around Sudbury," Patricia Cross, head of old master and 18th and 19th-century European art at Cheffins, said.
"As this is the most ambitious of the early large-scale works of the artist, we expect it to be of interest for private collectors and institutions alike."
It is the earliest of 14 known drawings given by Gainsborough to Goodenough Earle of Barton Grange, a close friend.
Hugh Belsey, MBE, art historian and Gainsborough expert, has confirmed the drawing’s authenticity.
Mr Belsey said: "The drawing was made when Gainsborough was about 20-years-old and, even at this early age, it shows the artist’s extraordinary capabilities as a draughtsman.
"Most drawings from this early date are studies of hedgerows, thickets and individual trees that embedded the forms in Gainsborough’s visual memory, but this sheet is a compositional drawing intended as a work that had a life beyond Gainsborough’s studio."
The drawing was acquired by the current owner’s grandfather in 1944 and has been held in the Norfolk family's possession ever since.
The Fine Sale will be held on June 24 at Cheffins, Clifton House, 1-2 Clifton Road, Cambridge, UK, CB1 7EA.
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