Entries Invited for the November Welsh Sale
As we are currently inviting entries to our final Welsh Sale auction of 2026, we thought that potential vendors may benefit from a quick summary of the Welsh art market.
The secondary art market for 20th-century Welsh art has experienced an unprecedented global surge, transforming regional modernism into a highly competitive international arena.
The success of the market has been centred around our flagship Welsh Sale which has solidified its status as the most successful region-specific art auction in the UK.
Following a milestone year in 2025 where total sales exceeded £1.5 million, the 2026 auction calendar—anchored by the landmark Spring and Summer sales—has yielded near-record turnover and staggering sell-through rates.
“It really is a golden time for Welsh art around the world. We are now experiencing increasing interest in our Welsh Sale auctions from overseas, especially the US”.
At the heart of this market triumph are the 20th-century masters whose distinct visual languages continue to define Welsh heritage. And the undisputed titan of the Welsh auction market remains Sir Kyffin Williams RA (1918–2006). Famous for his thick, impasto oil landscapes applied deliberately with a palette knife, Kyffin's work produces a striking, sculptural texture that commands the highest prices at auction. In the Spring 2026 auction—which achieved the second-highest total in the event's history with a 93% clearance rate—Williams’s premier oil paintings anchored the fine art session.
| Number | Title | Hammer Price |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | St David's Head | £55,000 |
| 2 | Sunset Yr Eifl | £37,000 |
| 3 | Farmhouse, Anglesey | £32,500 |
| 4 | Snowdonia Pass | £32,000 |
| 5 | Ffridd Llwyn Gorful | £28,000 |
The momentum carried into the Summer Welsh Sale on 25 July 2026, where his distinctive landscapes continued to fetch strong figures. Specifically, his moody, texture-heavy oil paintings 'Snowdon and the Traeth' and 'Moelwyn Bach in Autumn' both commanded hammer prices of £20,000. Collectors increasingly view his works not just as regional topography, but as essential pieces of mid-century expressionism.
| Number | Title | Hammer Price |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rough Sea, Porth Dafarch | £34,000 |
| 2 | Snowdon and the Traeth | £20,000 |
| 3 | Moelwyn Bach in Autumn | £20,000 |
| 4 | The Moelwyns in Winter | £18,500 |
| 5 | Cloud over Moel Hebog | £17,000 |
Parallel to the raw, visceral landscapes of Kyffin Williams is the delicate, contemplative modernism of Gwen John (1876–1939). While historically overshadowed by her more flamboyant brother Augustus John, Gwen's academic and critical reputation has translated into intense auction room competition in 2026. This on the back of a hugely popular exhibition at the National Museum of Wales.
Her works on paper are highly prized for their intimate scale and subtle tonal variations. This was vividly demonstrated at both the April and July Welsh Sales, where her watercolour 'Three Women in Church' realised £18,000 and her gouache on wove paper piece titled 'Flowers' outpaced several larger oil landscapes to hammer at an impressive £25,000, asserting her position at the pinnacle of the current Welsh art market.
Ultimately, the 2026 auction results at Rogers Jones & Co demonstrate that 20th-century Welsh art has transitioned from an undervalued regional niche to a robust, globally recognized sector. The robust hammer prices achieved by Kyffin Williams and Gwen John highlight an active financial market deeply invested in preserving and celebrating Wales's cultural legacy.
Apart from Gwen John and Sir Kyffin Williams here is a list of the top 20 auction prices at the first two Welsh Sales of 2026:
| Number | Artist | Lot | Hammer | Sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | William Weston Young | Album of British Birds Watercolours | £20,000 | Lot 356, Summer Welsh Sale (Part II) |
| 2 | Attributed to Cornelius Johnson | Portrait of Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke | £19,000 | Lot 277, Summer Welsh Sale (Part I) |
| 3 | Shani Rhys James MBE | Oil 'Postcard' | £15,000 | Lot 218, Spring Welsh Sale (Part I) |
| 4 | John Knapp-Fisher | Oil 'Boats, Porthgain' | £14,000 | Lot 219, Spring Welsh Sale (Part I) |
| 5 | Kevin Sinnott | Oil 'Lift Off' | £11,500 | Lot 221, Spring Welsh Sale (Part I) |
| 6 | Pure Welsh Gold from Clogau Mine | £10,000 | Lot 370, Summer Welsh Sale (Part II) | |
| 7 | John Ward | Stoneware Vase | £9,500 | Lot 220, Spring Welsh Sale (Part I) |
| 8 | William Weston Young | Archive of Documents | £9,500 | Lot 355, Summer Welsh Sale (Part II) |
| 9 | Donald McIntyre | Acrylic 'Scotstoun No. 2' | £8,500 | Lot 302, Summer Welsh Sale (Part I) |
| 10 | Donald McIntyre | Acrylic 'Surf and Dark Sky' | £8,000 | Lot 222, Spring Welsh Sale (Part I) |
| 11 | Attributed to John Piper | Mixed media 'No. 59, Cornish Wood on (an Estuary)' | £7,000 | Lot 217, Spring Welsh Sale (Part I) |
| 12 | Shani Rhys James MBE | Oil 'Red Overall' | £6,500 | Lot 286, Summer Welsh Sale (Part I) |
| 13 | Kevin Sinnott | Oil 'Spectators' | £6,000 | Lot 207, Spring Welsh Sale (Part I) |
| 14 | Claudia Williams | Oil 'Waiting' | £5,500 | Lot 216, Spring Welsh Sale (Part I) |
| 15 | Valerie Ganz | Mixed Media 'Port Talbot at Night' | £5,000 | Lot 94, Summer Welsh Sale (Part I) |
| 16 | Welsh Rugby Jersey, match-worn by Tommy David in 1972 Llanelli v All Blacks | £5,000 | Lot 358, Summer Welsh Sale (Part II) | |
| 17 | Valerie Ganz | Oil 'Portrait of Ryan Davies' | £4,800 | Lot 107, Summer Welsh Sale (Part I) |
| 18 | John Elwyn | Oil of figures in a moonlit landscape | £4,600 | Lot 288, Summer Welsh Sale (Part I) |
| 19 | Donald McIntyre | Acrylic 'Anglesey' | £4,400 | Lot 229, Spring Welsh Sale (Part I) |
| 20 | The Gregynog Press | The Plays of Euripides, 1931 | £4,400 | Lot 277, Spring Welsh Sale (Part II) |
We are now inviting entries to our final Welsh Sale of 2026. Entries close at the beginning of October.
To receive a no-obligation assessment of your Welsh art, please contact:
