11th Feb, 2026 11:00
The Estate of John Russell Taylor: Author, Critic, Collector
19
FRANCES HODGKINS (NEW ZEALAND 1869-1947)
THE TEA PARTY
signed Frances Hodgkins lower right; pencil and watercolour on paper; 34 x 37cm; 13 1/2 x 14 1/2in (56 x 59.5cm; 22 x 23 1/2in framed)
Exhibited: London, Gillian Jason Gallery, A Tribute to Frances Hodgkins, 1987, no. 6
Executed circa 1910, the setting of the present early watercolour suggests the south of France and, in the vibrant palette and fluid brushstrokes, the influence of Henri Matisse and Raoul Dufy. Hodgkin invariably preferred painting in watercolour and the white surface of the paper adds a sense of freedom and luminosity to the elegant gathering of ladies amidst whom a child is incongruously enjoying a swing, a somewhat arbitrary juxtaposition of compositional elements typical of the artist.
Hodgkins first left her home town of Dunedin in New Zealand for Europe in 1901, moving between England and France and visiting Spain, Moroco, Italy and the Netherlands. She exhibited at the Royal Academy in London becoming the first New Zealander to have her work shown 'on the line'. In Paris she taught at the Academie Colarossi, the first woman appointed to a teaching position there, and founded a school for watercolours in Concarneau, Brittany.
With the outbreak of the First World War she moved to St Ives in Cornwall where she worked with Cedric Morris and others in his circle of friends including John Piper. After the Armistice Hodgkins began showing with the London Group and in 1929 joined the Seven and Five Society, becoming a key figure in the development of British Modernism between the Wars.
Sold for £14,000
THE TEA PARTY
signed Frances Hodgkins lower right; pencil and watercolour on paper; 34 x 37cm; 13 1/2 x 14 1/2in (56 x 59.5cm; 22 x 23 1/2in framed)
Exhibited: London, Gillian Jason Gallery, A Tribute to Frances Hodgkins, 1987, no. 6
Executed circa 1910, the setting of the present early watercolour suggests the south of France and, in the vibrant palette and fluid brushstrokes, the influence of Henri Matisse and Raoul Dufy. Hodgkin invariably preferred painting in watercolour and the white surface of the paper adds a sense of freedom and luminosity to the elegant gathering of ladies amidst whom a child is incongruously enjoying a swing, a somewhat arbitrary juxtaposition of compositional elements typical of the artist.
Hodgkins first left her home town of Dunedin in New Zealand for Europe in 1901, moving between England and France and visiting Spain, Moroco, Italy and the Netherlands. She exhibited at the Royal Academy in London becoming the first New Zealander to have her work shown 'on the line'. In Paris she taught at the Academie Colarossi, the first woman appointed to a teaching position there, and founded a school for watercolours in Concarneau, Brittany.
With the outbreak of the First World War she moved to St Ives in Cornwall where she worked with Cedric Morris and others in his circle of friends including John Piper. After the Armistice Hodgkins began showing with the London Group and in 1929 joined the Seven and Five Society, becoming a key figure in the development of British Modernism between the Wars.
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
Viewing
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
