The overall numbers on London’s series of 19th Century European art and sculpture, Pre-Raphaelite and Victorian art sales obscure some very strong results at the top end of the market. Like many markets these days, the sales seemed to be skewed toward a few lots that attracted bidders driving the works substantially over the estimates.

In Sotheby’s sale of Pre-Raphaelite, Victorian and British Impressionist art, that was true of the top four lots including works by Sir George Clausen, Henry Herbert La Thangue, John Atkinson Grimshaw and John MacVicar Anderson. In 19th Century European paintings, Harald Sohlberg’s Fisherman’s Cottage reached a stunning £1.2m and Peder Severin Kroyer’s Wine Harvest in the Tryol doubled the high estimate to sell for £236k.

Christie’s Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite sale was topped by a painting by John Atkinson Grimshaw of Glasgow that made £185k and works bye Edward Reginald Frampton and Herbert James Draper that reached £173k each.