Edvard Munch print found at Kent estate to be auctioned in London

A print by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch that has remained in the same family for more than 50 years is expected to sell for up to £80,000 at auction.

The work, Melancholy III, was discovered at a private estate in north Kent and was listed to be sold by Catherine Southon Auctioneers in London on 28 October.

Created in 1902, the artwork was found with its original receipt showing it was bought in Norway in 1969 for 42,000 Norwegian kroner, the equivalent to about £3,300 in recent exchange rates.

The woodcut, which was printed from a carved block, shows a person near the sea, contrasting with the apparent intimacy of a couple walking towards a rowing boat, according to the auction house.

Catherine Southon, the owner of the auction house in Chislehurst, said: “It is always exciting to discover a work of this calibre emerging from a private family collection, particularly when it has remained with the same family for more than half a century.

“What makes this discovery especially compelling is the survival of the original 1969 purchase receipt, which gives us a wonderful glimpse into the work’s history and the moment it first entered the family’s care.”