EDINBURGH.- Lyon & Turnbull will sell a major private collection of paintings by Edinburgh born artist Sir William Russell Flint at auction of British & European Paintings - 30th April 2014 at 33 Broughton Place, Edinburgh EH1 3RR. The collection is worth £200,000 with estimates ranging between £5,000 and £50,000.

By his death in 1969 Sir William Russell Flint was a world famous artist: a long term Royal Academician and President of the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolour. A familiar face in London society where virtually the entirety of his career was conducted. Nick Curnow Paintings Specialist and Managing Director of Lyon & Turnbull said “His appreciators are often unaware that he was a born and bred Scotsman. Growing up in Portobello on the coast to the east of Edinburgh, he learnt his extraordinary skill as a watercolourist at his father’s knee: a ticket maker and illuminator of text, who practised art in his spare moments.”

Paintings include ‘The Dance of 1000 Flounces’ estimate £30,000-£50,000, is the celebrity of the collection, previously known as ‘Ladies of Almeria’. It is one of the most famous painting by Flint and it is also one of the most reproduced. The artist signed a limited edition reproduction that has sold for as much as a thousand pounds. Painted on one of Flint's visit to Spain, it represents the artist at his best showing his extraordinary skills as a watercolour artist and his ability to capture the very spirit of the country through the sensuous poses of the female dancers.

‘Cecilia’, estimate £20,000-30,000 and ‘Dalitha’ also £20,000-30,000, show his fascination with the feminine beauty and with that of Cecilia Green in particular. Cecilia has been Flint's model, inspiration, assistant and friend for over 15 years and has been portrayed in painting after painting in a different role all the time.

‘Sisters at Dinard’, £6,000-8,000 is a lovely small work that captures the vivacious spirit of the epoch - of the relaxed, jaunty, playful atmosphere of a 1930s sunny French beach.

‘Gypsies on the Beach’ £10,000-15,000 shows how much the Mediterranean countries and their exotic flair have inspired the artist, and the always-present fascination with the sensuousness of the female body.