By Jenny Barwise

Last updated at 13:32, Monday, 10 December 2012

An oil painting by celebrated artist Sheila Fell sold for more than £8,000 when it went under the hammer.

Looking towards Aspatria by Sheila Fell

The award-winning artist’s painting, called Looking towards Aspatria, was expected to fetch between £8,000 and £12,000 at an antiques and fine art sale.

The winning bid was £8,200.

The two-day sale, held at Mitchells in Cockermouth, saw 1,300 lots go up for grabs.

Ten original pen and ink drawings by Lake District artist Alfred Wainwright also featured in the sale.

They had estimates of between £500 and £800 each.

Other lots included artworks by local artists William Heaton Cooper (1903-1995), Edward H Thompson (1879-1949), Percy Kelly (1918-1993) and Len Roope (1917-2005).

The sale also featured a range of jewellery, watches, jewellery boxes, ceramics, glassware, clocks, barometers, mirrors, photo frames, trinket boxes, candlesticks, objects of art, collectors’ items, writing slopes and tea caddies as well as a wide variety of antique furnishings.

Award-winning Fell was born in Aspatria in 1931.

Despite living in London for the greater part of her life, she devoted her artistic career to painting and drawing places close to the place of her birth.

The Cumberland landscape was her main influence, inspiration and theme.

She was educated at Richmond Hill School before gaining a scholarship allowing her to go to Nelson Thomlinson in Wigton.

She won many awards before her death in 1979.

First published at 11:17, Monday, 10 December 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk