Hammer comes down at £500 on controversial painting - but who was the artist?

Detail from the painting depicting the swan

A 19th Century oil painting starring a poorly-illustrated mute swan has sold for £500 at auction in Louth, Lincolnshire.

The painting is not in good condition and needs cleaning, but the high price reflects the possibility that it may be the work of  highly-collectable York-born artist William Etty who attended a school in Pocklington before becoming an apprentice printer for publishers of a newspaper, The Hull Packet.

If, after further evaluation, this proves to be the case, it could prove to be worth much more.

However, Etty had many imitators in which case the painting may be worth much less. 

An extremely shy man who never married, Etty (1787-1849) was always controversial because he specialised in the nude figure, simultaneously earning him commercial success and a reputation for indecency.

For much of his life, the artist suffered poor health and he succumbed to an asthmatic attack brought on by rheumatic fever when he was just 62.

The provenance of the painting is not known, nor the identity of the successful bidder. 

The sale was conducted on Tuesday by John Taylors of Louth.

Hammer price of £500. The painting in full - but is it a genuine Etty?