First up is Dreweatts in Newbury which is offering the private collection of the eminent architect Sir William Whitfield (1920-2019) in a flagship two-day sale. As part of the events around the auction, interior design firm Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler will present selected items from the sale in room-sets at Donnington Priory and Dreweatts’ London gallery on Pall Mall.
Today Dreweatts will host a talk with the late Sir William’s partner Andrew Lockwood at its Pall Mall gallery, while on March 3 a panel discussion with interior designer Daniel Slowik and architect Francis Terry will be held.
Sir William’s most notable projects included Richmond House in Whitehall; the re-development of Paternoster Square; Hawksmoor’s and Tusmore Park, Oxfordshire.
St Helen Hall, Durham. Image credit Dreweatts1759.
In 1967 he bought, with Lockwood, St Helen Hall in County Durham, the Palladian house that that had been at imminent risk of demolition. Over the course of the next four decades it was restored it to its former glory and furnished with high-quality objects.
It is these items that make up the 570 lots to be sold across two days on March 10-11 at Donnington Priory.
A pair of George III mahogany library armchairs estimated at £8000-12,000 at Deweatts on March 10-11.
Among the items on offer is this pair of George III mahogany library armchairs c.1765 which were possibly those supplied for Philip Howard (1730-1810) at Corby Castle, Cumbria, and later sold by Phillips in 1994 as part of the Corby Castle house sale. They carry an estimate of £8000-12,000.
Later in March, Birmingham auction house Fellows plans an evening talk at its offices in Charles Street, Mayfair, with Historic Decoration, the company set up by interior decorator Caroline Percy and architectural historian Oliver Gerrish.
The focus is on how the Arts & Crafts movement came about and its stylistic signatures using examples of objects, architects and designers.
Tickets for the evening event on March 19 can be purchased via Fellows.
