Bird paintings fetch £340k

A SET of seven watercolour paintings by a Capital-born artist described as "the greatest ornithological artist ever" has been sold for a "staggering" £339,600 at auction.

The seven classic works by Archibald Thorburn, featuring ptarmigan, pheasants, woodcock and grouse, were completed during his artistic prime in the 1920s.

One scene, Ptarmigan Calling in the Snow, featuring a group of the game birds in a Scots landscape, achieved the highest price ever recorded for a Thorburn paintings on the subject, fetching 72,000 and smashing its pre-sale estimate of 15,000-20,000.

The paintings were sold at a Bonhams sale in Bond Street, London.