Publio Morbiducci

At Eastbourne auctions, they sell on 7 May 2015 a "political military interest" oil on canvas with a lot of inscriptions, including (according to the description) P Morbi DUCCI. Estimated at £30 to £50.

This turns out to be the name of the artist, Publio Morbiducci (1889-1963), an Italian sculptor, medalist and illustrator who seems to have worked for many organisations, mainly the Italian fascists between 1930 and 1945 (illustration pictured above), but the painting here is probably post-war and anti-war. It is a weak, probably later work by a good artist, and should fetch considerably more than the estimate based on his name alone, but his buyers are mainly Italian so whether any of them will find this painting tucked away in an English auction remains to be seen... A sculpture by him would be rated a lot higher though! UPDATE: sold for £25 only. I wonder if the buyer knows what he bought.