Thomas Sidney Cooper – Canterbury’s famously artistic son – painted much sought-after pictures of cattle and sheep in scenes depicting the rural idyll, but few have heard of William Sidney Cooper, his great nephew and student.

Now, at a sale of fine art and antiques at the Canterbury Auction Galleries on Tuesday, December 2, works by the two men will offer a rare opportunity to compare how the master influenced his pupil.

The rural view shows figures and donkeys in a landscape overlooking Canterbury, while the other depicts a family in front of their thatched cottage. The pair is estimated at £6,000-£8,000.

WS Cooper, meanwhile, is represented by a fine watercolour of a farm labourer loading hay on to a cart being drawn by a donkey, watched by a gaggle of geese. The scene is set in front of an imposing gateway, identified as Dent de Lion Castle, in Garlinge, near Margate.

Cooper painted it in 1884, interestingly a century after the same view was painted by JMW Turner. Cooper’s version is estimated at £600-£800.

In contrast are two watercolour sketches by Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827), one showing a coach outside an inn with figures in the street, the other a street scene with figures in horses and carriages and a procession of monks. They are estimated at £2,000-£3,000 and £3,500-£5,000 respectively.

A further important pair of prints has considerable local historical interest. They are titled respectively "View of the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway from over the tunnel, taken on the Opening Day, May 3rd 1830" and "View of the Canterbury and Whitstable Railway from Church Street taken on the Opening Day, May 3rd 1830" and each is signed by Robert Stephenson, whose company supplied the locomotive Invicta, for the ceremony.

By Thomas Mann Baynes (1794-1854), printed by C Hullmandel, and published by Henry Ward, 14 Sun Street, Canterbury, the prints are to be sold as a pair and are estimated at £3,500-£4,500.

Viewing is on Friday, November 28, from 2pm to 7pm; Sunday, November 30, from 1pm to 5pm; Monday, December 1, from 10am to 7pm and on the morning of the sale.

Also on view on the Friday is the saleroom’s regular monthly sale, which this month includes a good pre-Christmas selection of toys and collectors’ items, which will be sold on Saturday, November 29.

For further information, please contact the auctioneer on 01227 763337.