PAINTINGS by artist Robert Lenkiewicz valued at £1-million will go under the hammer next month in a prestigious sale by Tavistock auctioneers Robin Fenner.

The event, which will take place in what the late artist called the ?Theology Building? in New Street on Plymouth?s Barbican, has been organised by Fenner?s sales room manager Nigel Trevelyan.

Featuring 300 lots of paintings and personal possessions, the sale is the realisation of a ten-year ambition by Nigel.

Having been running bi-annual sales of Lenkiewicz?s work for a number of years Nigel always wanted to hold a major auction on the Barbican location.

Because of his involvement with the artist?s work both before and after his death he is recognised as an expert on the subject. Along with the paintings there will be 100 lots of personal possessions featuring Persian rugs, chairs, desks ? and a skeleton.

?I think his full potential as a artist has yet to be fully recognised. His work has grown in value by 10% to 20% each year,? he said.

?The demand still far exceeds the supply. There are still people crying our for his work. People are not offloading his paintings.?

The most expensive item in the sale is a triptych, ?The Massacre of Innocents?, which is expected to realise between £100,000 and £150,000. The paintings vary in size with the smaller oils expected to make £4,000. Watercolours and pen and ink pictures are around £1,500 and limited editions are between £400 and £1,000.

Nigel said when you own a Lenkiewicz you are owning more than simply a work of art.

?There is so much more to the man behind the pictures. He is still as much an absorbing figure dead as he was in life.?

Nigel said the artist?s first love was his library. ?The paintings came second. They were a way of expressing himself. A lot of the content in the paintings reflected his sociological thoughts. He expressed himself through his paintings.?

Lenkiewicz, a prolific painter, was the creator of 20 projects ? the first was a series on vagrancy and the last was on addictive behaviour.

?He felt everyone qualified for that as we are all addicted to something. A lot of his paintings were thought provoking. He wanted you to think about what your were looking at.?

Unlike most painters the flamboyant and often mischeviously controversial artist featured himself in many compositions. The artist once told Nigel this visual trademark arrived because he found the best subject to practise on was himself.

?That was his excuse. I don?t know how much vanity was in it. He also said by being his own subject he was always there early in the morning ? and he didn?t need to wait for the model!?

The auction takes place on Sunday, February 15.