An oil painting of Pin Mill by former Ipswich Art Club president and royal artist Edward “Ted” Seago has sold at auction for £78,050 – £28,000 more than expected.

Before the auction, at Bonhams in London, the 25in by 35in picture, Before The Barge Race, Pin Mill, had been set to fetch between £30,000 and £50,000.

Another Seago painting – A Beach Scene On The Suffolk Coast – sold for £43,250 at the same auction.

Seago, who died in January 1974, was much admired by members of the royal family.

The Prince of Wales, Prince Philip and the late Queen Mother were among those who admired and collected his pictures.

The Prince of Wales was also a fan and once wrote: “Whatever the so-called experts may say, Ted Seago’s gifts will long be remembered, valued and loved. His work was in the best tradition of that peculiarly English school of landscape artists.

“I certainly will always miss those visits to his Norfolk studio, but the pictures I have will be a constant inspiration and a happy memory of an intriguing person.”

The son of a coal merchant and born in Norwich, Seago was a self-taught artist.

His works have been classified as either impressionist or post-impressionist and included landscapes, seascapes, skyscapes, street scenes, his garden and portraits.

Seago died of a brain tumour in London on January 19, 1974.

In his will he requested that one third of his paintings from his estate were to be destroyed. There are about 19,000 water colours and 300 oil paintings remaining worldwide.

A major retrospective of Seago’s work was held in autumn 2008 in London.