The Artist’s Daughter Picking Mimosa by Herbert Olivier, estimated at £3000-5000 at Dreweatts.
Dreweatts of Newbury is offering the largest collection of works to ever come onto the market by artist Herbert Olivier (1861-1952), uncle of the actor Sir Laurence Olivier (1907-89).
While his works can be found in museums and major collections around the world, these 39 lots come straight from the artist’s home in Airlie Gardens, Holland Park, London, where his great-grandson James Larsson says they have adorned the walls for over 100 years.
Royal Academy-trained Olivier was a portrait, allegorical and landscape painter, as well as being appointed an official war artist. He was well-known for his portraits of Royalty (George V) and aristocracy, as well as his grand-scale allegorical works.
While some of the works coming to auction were loaned to important exhibitions over the years, Dreweatts says the majority have never been seen outside the Olivier family home.
The paintings will be offered in an auction of Old Master Paintings, British and European Art on March 2. Shown top is The Artist’s Daughter Picking Mimosa, estimated at £3000-5000.
Oil on canvas of figures in a lakeside park by Julian Trevelyan, 1957, estimate £800-1200 at John Rolfe.
Dated 1957, this oil on canvas of figures in a lakeside park by Julian Trevelyan (1910-88) has a guide of £800-1200 at the February 25-26 sale held by John Rolfe in Tetbury, Gloucestershire.
Original artwork, drawn, painted and signed by Frank Bellamy for The Eagle comic No 39 in 1960, estimate £1500-2000 at Comic Book Auctions.
Shown here is an original artwork, drawn, painted and signed by Frank Bellamy for The Eagle comic No 39 in 1960. Dan Dare’s spaceship, Anastasia, zooms down to battle with the fearsome Nagrebs in an action-packed episode of Terra Nova.
Bellamy used quick-drying Pelikan inks for his artwork creating bright, vibrant colours which often faded down the years if over-exposed to natural light. But not in this case, as this board had been carefully stored away for over 60 years.
The piece is estimated at £1500-2000 in Comic Book Auctions’ timed online sale ending on February 26.
The medals, militaria and associated items relating to Brigadier Terence Nelson Smith are estimated at £2500-3500 in a Charterhouse auction.
A group of medals and militaria awarded to one family over nearly 100 years has been entered into the Charterhouse specialist auction of medals, militaria, coins and stamps in Sherborne on March 2.
Consigned by a descendant, they relate to the Smith family. Unusually, one of the family members changed their name from Smith to Smyth and in doing so went back to his Irish heritage.
Highlight of the Smith & Smyth collections are items belonging to Brigadier Terence Nelson Smith DSO OBE (1899-1969), such as his group of 10 medals including his Distinguished Service Order (DSO).
As well as the medals, on offer are his school rugby shirt and rugby caps, understood to be from St Bedes, Edinburgh, photos from the 1920s when in India, military buttons and insignia, and even a diary extract noting his fiancée finally accepted his offer of marriage after seven proposals.
The medals, militaria and associated items relating to Brigadier Nelson Smith are estimated at £2500-3500 in Dorset.
Utagawa Kunisada folio of woodblock prints, comprising the complete set of the series Magic Lantern Slides of That Romantic Purple Figure (Sono sugata yukari no utsushi-e), estimate £800-1200 at Greenslade Taylor Hunt.
Somerset saleroom Greenslade Taylor Hunt is offering an Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1864) folio of woodblock prints, comprising the complete set of the series Magic Lantern Slides of That Romantic Purple Figure (Sono sugata yukari no utsushi-e). Each horizontal sheet is oban size, approximately 10 x 14in (25 x 36cm) overall.
The estimate at the March 2 auction in Taunton is £800-1200.
A £500 note issued by the Bank of England branch in Leeds dated 1936, estimate £18,000-22,000 at Noonans.
A £500 note issued by the Bank of England branch in Leeds dated 1936 will be offered by Noonans in the sale of banknotes on March 1-2. Personally signed by Kenneth Peppiatt who was chief cashier at the time, it is expected to fetch £18,000-22,000.
These high denomination notes are available from three Bank of England branches: London, Liverpool and Leeds (although some were issued in Birmingham and Manchester none have ever come to light).
Of those now known to exist, the Leeds branch versions are the rarest. This one, from an old private collection, is the first Leeds example to be sold at auction and only the second known.
The February 28 sale at Kings Russell in London includes this 18th century gold and carnelian Jacobite brooch. To the reverse is a symbol of the sunflower following the sun with the word Fidelity.
Estimate £400-600.
A 19th century German painted wooden Noah’s Ark with a collection of around 40 carved and painted animals and figures, estimate £300-400 at Bamfords.
This 19th century German painted wooden Noah’s Ark with a collection of around 40 carved and painted animals and figures was one of many produced in the Erziberge region. It is expected to bring £300-400 as part of a toys and juvenilia sale at Bamfords in Derby on February 28.
Sister X, a portrait by Sir William Orpen, estimate €30,000-50,000 at Adam’s.
The March 1 sale of Important Irish Art at Adam’s in Dublin includes this portrait by Sir William Orpen (1878-1931).
The subject is Yvonne Aupicq, a French nurse Orpen had met while an official allied war artist tasked with documenting the reality of life on the front line. Orpen painted her initially as Frida Nater, a German spy, and then as a refugee, embellishing his story with falsehoods. On being recalled to the War Office to explain himself, he retracted the story and was reprimanded.
The relationship between Orpen and Aupicq continued for a decade after the war and he painted her numerous times.
On this occasion she is painted as a nun and given the title Sister X. One of two versions of this picture, one was given to Aupicq, this other kept by Orpen. It is estimated at €30,000-50,000.
The Stepped Street by LS Lowry, estimate: £50,000-80,000 at Tennants.
Two drawings by LS Lowry (1887-1976) are on offer in Tennants’ Modern and Contemporary Art Sale on March 4 in Leyburn, North Yorkshire.
The Stepped Street (estimate: £50,000-80,000) shows Lowry’s skill as a draughtsman at an early stage of his career when he had not long left art school. Executed in 1929 during a golden period of creativity for the artist, the drawing depicts Crowther Street in Stockport, which was later partially demolished.
The Sea by LS Lowry, estimate £12,000-18,000 at Tennants.
The second drawing is The Sea, a simple pencil sketch of the unbroken sea and sky of the north-east coast, dating to 1965 and the later stages of Lowry’s career (guide: £12,000-18,000). After the death of his overbearing mother in 1939, Lowry frequently stayed for long periods of time at the Seaburn Hotel in Sunderland and always stayed in the same room, which looked straight out at the empty expanse of the North Sea, sketching.
One of his finest large-scale oil seascapes inspired by the same view, The North Sea painted in 1966, was sold at Tennants in October 2022 for £840,000.
Lady Waiting, an oil on board by LS Lowry, estimate £100,000-150,000 at Swan Fine Art.
Lady Waiting, an oil on board by LS Lowry has a guide of £100,000-150,000 at Swan Fine Art in Oxfordshire on March 1-2.
Signed and dated 1964, the 6½ x 10in (17 x 25cm) painting has been in a private collection since purchased from the Henry Donn Gallery in 1978. It is accompanied by the original receipt.
Minton encaustic gothic revival bread plate designed by Pugin, estimate £400-600 at Claydon Auctioneers.
This example of the well-known Minton encaustic gothic revival bread plate designed by Pugin comes for sale at Claydon Auctioneers in Middle Claydon, Buckinghamshire, on February 26-27 with a guide of £400-600. Decorated in red, blue and gold, it has the motto Waste Not Want Not.
James Bond Dr No poster (1962), estimate £10,000-20,000 at Propstore.
The Propstore timed online sale of film and music posters running until March 2 features a complete offering of posters from every James Bond film starring Sean Connery. They include this UK quad design for his 007 debut, Dr No (1962), estimated at £10,000-20,000.
