When a portrait of a former High Sheriff of Pembrokeshire comes under the hammer next week, interest in this colourful nobleman will be as intense as in the painting itself.

Baron Kylsant of Carmarthen was chairman and managing director of the White Star Shipping Line, the company that built the Titanic, and also an MP for Haverfordwest and Pembroke when he was tried and convicted of fraud in 1931.

The baron, who lived at Llanstephan and held the office of High Sheriff of Pembrokeshire, had issued a misleading stock prospectus and was imprisoned and stripped of his knighthood.

A sizeable oil painting of the Baron in full regalia is now being sold by Carmarthen-based Peter Francis Auctioneers.

Company principal, Nigel Hodson, says the life of the man in the painting is as interesting as the work itself. It is among a large number of valuable paintings, – many by Welsh artists – which are part of a sale of antiques and fine art at the Towyside Saleroom, Carmarthen, on Tuesday.

They include several pieces by the respected 20th century artist, Will Evans, rescued from the cellar of his former home in Swansea.

“We are very lucky to have these in the sale because the current owners didn’t realise they were in the cellar and were about to pour concrete onto them during restoration work,’’ says Mr Hodson.

Several interesting pieces of taxidermy, including a peacock, will also be auctioned.

Clarice Cliff pottery, antique musical instruments, clocks, a certificate signed by Adolf Hitler and many other antiques are among the lots.

The sale will begin at 11am and will once again feature live internet bidding.