A pair of watercolour sketches by famous British artist John Piper of stained glass window designs for the baptistry of the rebuilt Coventry Cathedral are to be sold at auction in Shropshire in March.
The paintings, which are valued at up to £3,000, have been consigned to the next sale of fine pictures, silver and jewellery at Halls' Welsh Bridge saleroom in Shrewsbury on March 24.
They were rescued by the owner, who now lives in Scotland, after being discarded during a hotel refurbishment two years ago. He had no idea that they were so valuable.
Coventry Cathedral was rebuilt after being devastated in a German bombing raid on the night of November 14, 1940 during the Second World War. The Queen laid the foundation stone on March 23, 1956 and the building was consecrated on May 25, 1962.
The new cathedral was an inspiration to many fine artists of the post-war era, including Piper (1903-'92). Along with Patrick Reyntiens, he designed the stained glass windows for the new cathedral.
Cathedral architect Sir Basil Spence also commissioned work by Graham Sutherland, Ralph Beyer, John Hutton, Jacob Epstein and Elisabeth Frink, most of whom were still developing their artistic careers.
Piper also created tapestries for Chichester and Hereford Cathedrals and was a set designer for a number of theatres.
Halls' paintings expert William Lacey said: "It's a great privilege to see these fascinating sketches and to include them in our next sale of fine paintings because John Piper was a very important modern British artist and one of my favourites.
"We are anticipating great interest in the sketches from art collectors. Coventry Cathedral was voted Britain's most popular public building of the 20th century in 1999 poll conducted by English Heritage and Channel 4 television."
Piper was appointed an official war artist in the Second World War II and his work often focused on the British landscape, especially churches. He wrote extensively on modern art in books and articles and, with his wife, Myfanwy, founded the contemporary art journal, Axis.
His children include painters Edward and Sebastian Piper and grandchildren Luke and Henry are a painter and sculptor respectively.
For more information about the paintings and the auction contact Mr Lacey on Tel: 01743 284777 or visit
www.hallsgb.com.
Pictures show John Piper's sketches of stained glass windows for Coventry Cathedral.