11th Feb, 2026 11:00
The Estate of John Russell Taylor: Author, Critic, Collector
17
EDWARD MCKNIGHT KAUFFER (AMERICAN/BRITISH 1891-1954)
TREES
signed and dated E.McKnight Kauffer 1918 lower left; watercolour over traces of pencil on paper; 22.5 x 20cm; 8 3/4 x 8in (39 x 34.5cm; 15 1/4 x 13 1/2in framed)
Provenance: Abbott & Holder, London
Literature: Mark Hamworth-Borth, E. McKnight Kauffer, a Designer and his Public, London, 1979, p. 28
In the present work McKnight Kauffer's admiration for Cezanne and Cubism is tangible, anticipating his later bolder style and use of bright colours (see lot 160). Before leaving the USA for Europe McKnight Kauffer had visited the Armory Show of 1913 in Chicago, which introduced European avant-garde to an American audience. The work of Duchamp, Matisse, Braque, Brâncusi and Van Gogh thrilled him. He recalled: 'I didn’t understand it, but I certainly couldn’t dismiss it'. Thereafter McKnight Kauffer travelled to Munich and Paris before arriving in London at the outbreak of the First World War.
Settling in Hampstead he befriended the painters Robert Bevan (lot 70), Charles Ginner and Harold Gilman, all members of the London Group, a pivotal forum for new painting and sculpture. From 1915 McKnight Kauffer worked in advertising, collaborating with Frank Pick, publicity manager of the London Underground, designing posters of sparkling originality for the tube for the next twenty-five years. His partnership with Pick established his reputation as one of the twentieth century's stand-out figures in poster and graphic design.
Born Edward Kauffer in Montana, he had left school early to work as a theatre set painter before studying art in San Francisco where he subsidised his income working in a bookshop. There in 1912 he met university professor Joseph McKnight who was so impressed by Kauffer's paintings that he offered to sponsor his study trip to Europe. Kauffer added McKnight to his name as a mark of gratitude.
Sold for £3,500
TREES
signed and dated E.McKnight Kauffer 1918 lower left; watercolour over traces of pencil on paper; 22.5 x 20cm; 8 3/4 x 8in (39 x 34.5cm; 15 1/4 x 13 1/2in framed)
Provenance: Abbott & Holder, London
Literature: Mark Hamworth-Borth, E. McKnight Kauffer, a Designer and his Public, London, 1979, p. 28
In the present work McKnight Kauffer's admiration for Cezanne and Cubism is tangible, anticipating his later bolder style and use of bright colours (see lot 160). Before leaving the USA for Europe McKnight Kauffer had visited the Armory Show of 1913 in Chicago, which introduced European avant-garde to an American audience. The work of Duchamp, Matisse, Braque, Brâncusi and Van Gogh thrilled him. He recalled: 'I didn’t understand it, but I certainly couldn’t dismiss it'. Thereafter McKnight Kauffer travelled to Munich and Paris before arriving in London at the outbreak of the First World War.
Settling in Hampstead he befriended the painters Robert Bevan (lot 70), Charles Ginner and Harold Gilman, all members of the London Group, a pivotal forum for new painting and sculpture. From 1915 McKnight Kauffer worked in advertising, collaborating with Frank Pick, publicity manager of the London Underground, designing posters of sparkling originality for the tube for the next twenty-five years. His partnership with Pick established his reputation as one of the twentieth century's stand-out figures in poster and graphic design.
Born Edward Kauffer in Montana, he had left school early to work as a theatre set painter before studying art in San Francisco where he subsidised his income working in a bookshop. There in 1912 he met university professor Joseph McKnight who was so impressed by Kauffer's paintings that he offered to sponsor his study trip to Europe. Kauffer added McKnight to his name as a mark of gratitude.
Auction: The Estate of John Russell Taylor: Author, Critic, Collector, 11th Feb, 2026
Auction Location: London, UK
John Russell Taylor was a compulsive collector. When he died at the age of ninety, his two bedroom flat on the corner of Brook Green was floor to ceiling with books and pictures that he had collected over the last seventy years. A precocious talent he was awarded a scholarship to read English at Cambridge aged 16 and graduated with a starred First Class degree. Film, theatre and art critic for The Times for more than four decades, he wrote thousands of articles and reviews for the newspaper. He also wrote over sixty books – critical studies, biographies, and monographs. He was appointed professor of Film at the University of Southern California during the 1970s, when he was asked by Alfred Hitchcock to write his biography. Hitch remains the standard text on the film director. John's interests ranged across all aspects of the arts from Art Nouveau book illustration to Vorticism, fan paintings, poetry and stage design. Struck by the visual rather than the value of a work of art, the sale of his picture collection gives a flavour of the full gamut of his encyclopaedic mind, a man remembered for his phenomenal range of reference, his extraordinary talent for writing and his warm and generous character.
For a copy of the printed catalogue, email pictures@olympiaauctions.com
PUBLIC EXHIBITION
Friday 6th February: 10am - 5pm
Sunday 8th February: 12pm - 4pm
Monday 9th February: 10am - 8pm (Drinks: 5pm - 8pm)
Tuesday 10th February: 10am - 5pm
View Press Release for more information
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PUBLIC EXHIBITION
Friday 6th February: 10am - 5pm
Sunday 8th February: 12pm - 4pm
Monday 9th February: 10am - 8pm (Drinks: 5pm - 8pm)
Tuesday 10th February: 10am - 5pm
