Brush with the law! Nude watercolour painting by East End gangster Reggie Kray to be auctioned

A never-before seen soft nude painting by gangster Reggie Kray is set to go under the hammer.

The watercolour, entitled ‘Girl Bathing’, was created by the infamous hardman in 1986 as he served life in Norwich prison.

Experts believe it was inspired by Edgar Degas’s ‘The Tub’ which killer Kray became obsessed with during his incarceration.

It is being auctioned with two of his other paintings called ‘Tree Studies’ which have been seen before.

The three – all marked with Kray’s prison number – are expected to fetch around £500 each during the sale by Cheffins in Cambridge on May 2.

Sarah Flynn, from Cheffins, yesterday said: “Painting became quite a hobby for him in prison and he is not bad at all.

“He obviously enjoyed painting and that comes through in his work.

“The paintings are owned by a distinguished local private collector. He is selling them because he is downsizing his collection.

“The nude painting is very different, and quite an unusual find so I would imagine there will be a lot of interest in it.”

She added: “Everyone is mildly intrigued by the Kray brothers and twentieth century art is very popular at the moment.

“The pieces are expected to go at around £300 to £500 each but I would not be surprised if they went for more.”

Kray and his twin brother Ronnie became kingpins of organised crime in London during the 1950s and 1960s with their mob called ‘The Firm’.

They were involved in armed robberies, arson, protection rackets and the murders of Jack “The Hat” McVitie and George Cornell and both jailed for life in 1969.

Reggie was released from prison on compassionate grounds in 2000 and died eight weeks later from cancer aged 66. His brother died five years earlier age 61.