London Sales Preview: Simon Sainsbury Collection

Christie's

A pair of George III hall chairs from Harewood House, one of England's greatest country estates (est. £250–400,000; $500–800,000)

Christie's

From Sainsbury's fine English pottery collection, a charming blue-and-white vessel in the shape of a cat (est. £20–30,000; $40–60,000)

London Sales Preview

Sotheby's Imp/Mod

Christie's Imp/Mod

Sotheby's Contemporary

Sotheby's Old Masters

Christie's Old Masters & British

Christie's Contemporary

Phillips Contemporary

Henri Matisse Francis Bacon Balthus Edgar Degas Thomas Chippendale Nicholas Hawksmoor George Stubbs Balthus

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Simon Sainsbury: The Creation of an English Arcadia
Total estimate: £15 million ($30 million)
Christie’s

Simon Sainsbury, who died in 2006, was one of three brothers who inherited and then expanded the family’s vast supermarket fortune. But he may be best remembered as a connoisseur and a hugely generous benefactor of the arts. He, along with his brothers—John, Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover, and Sir Timothy—bankrolled the Robert Venturi–designed 1991 addition to London’s National Gallery, and in 1965 Simon established the Monument Trust, which has benefited the Georgian Society and funded the restoration of Nicholas Hawksmoor’s Christ Church, in London, among many other projects.

All the time, Sainsbury was quietly building one of the finest collections of British art, pottery and furniture and acquiring an impressive group of Impressionist and modern pictures, 18 of which, including examples by Balthus and Francis Bacon, were bequeathed to the National Gallery and Tate in 2007. Many of his remaining holdings, amassed through 40 years of careful selection, are now being auctioned by Christie’s. Proceeds from the sale will benefit the Monument Trust.

The exceptional furniture is by leading Georgian cabinetmakers, most famously Thomas Chippendale. Among the highlights are a pair of George III hall chairs (shown above) from Harewood House, one of England’s greatest country estates (est. £250–400,000; $500–800,000), and a circa 1775 commode attributed to Mayhew and Ince (£200–300,000; $400–600,000). From Sainsbury’s fine English pottery collection, some 80 examples of 16th-century delftware vases, chargers, tankards and jugs will be offered, including a charming blue-and-white vessel, right, in the shape of a cat (£20–30,000; $40–60,000). One of the star lots is a rare circa 1600 polychrome charger decorated with the Royal Oak, its branches capped with crowns (£80,000–120,000; $160–240,000).

Sainsbury’s decorative-arts holdings were complemented by his outstanding collection of paintings spanning four centuries. One being sold this month at Christie’s is the George Stubbs portrait Thomas Freeman, Lord Clarendon’s Gamekeeper (est. £150–250,000; $300–500,000).  Other pictures, including works by Edgar Degas, Henri Matisse and Sir Joshua Reynolds, will be offered in the house’s Imp/mod sales on June 24 and 25.

"London Sales Preview" originally appeared in the June 2008 issue of Art+Auction. For a complete list of articles from this issue available on ARTINFO, see Art+Auction's June 2008 Table of Contents.