ARTWORKS by Scottish artists have been sold in sale of art by an English council council.

Hertfordshire County Council has raised £444,000 by selling 152 artworks at auction, including works by Joan Eardley and Anne Redpath.

The art was sold at an auctioneers in Cambridge.

The council's collection was started in 1949 as part of the School Loan Collection, a post-war initiative by Sir John Newsom, the Hertfordshire Chief Education Officer at the time.

The initiative involved obtaining artworks from contemporary British artists for schools to borrow from the council.

Many of the pieces were purchased from dealers, artists and the ‘Pictures for Schools’ exhibitions which took place from the 1950s and 1960s.

However, the council said: "The service has become less relevant to the evolving curriculum as students have had the opportunity to experience art in new ways, such as gallery visits or through modern technology."

It was suspended in 2012 and permanently discontinued in 2017.

The sold artworks are part of a collection with 1828 pieces in it.

A surrealist work by John Tunnard, titled ‘Brandis .44’ sold for £37,000.

Eardley's pastel work sold for £31,000.

Anne Redpath’s ‘Blue Plate’ also sold for £31,000, tripling its lower estimate of £10,000.

Brett Tryner, associate at Cheffins, which organised the sale, said: “This sale generated mass attention from collectors, dealers and the media, particularly as the selection on offer included some of the most well-known names in British 20th century art.

"Many of these artworks were offered to the public for the first time and this auction has really set the bar for the values for these important mid-century painters.

"The burgeoning popularity and emerging market for these artists has been clearly demonstrated by the solid prices paid for many of the lots on offer and the sheer volume of bids which were received on the day.

"Buyers included collectors from the UK and overseas, institutions, the trade and also purchasers from Hertfordshire.”

Councillor Terry Douris, Hertfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education, Libraries and Localism, said: “It’s fantastic that today’s sale has raised more than we expected.

"The money raised can be used to improve the condition and public visibility of the nationally significant sculptures we hold."