11th Feb, 2026 11:00
The Estate of John Russell Taylor: Author, Critic, Collector
2
CONTINENTAL SCHOOL (19TH CENTURY)
AD ASTRA (TO THE STARS)
signed with the artist's monogram and dated 1897 lower right; oil on canvas; 44 x 27cm; 17 1/4 x 10 3/4in (59.5 x 41.5cm; 23 1/2 x 16 1/4in framed)
This enigmatic painting centred on a naked girl standing in the sea with hair on end and hands outstretched, clearly derives from Ad Astra painted in 1894 by Akseli Gallen-Kallela (Finnish 1865-1931). In the present riff on Gallen-Kallela's composition the figure stands higher in the water, the sky is cloudy, and the artist has added the heads of a man and woman floating half submerged in the water, suggesting a more sombre message.
Gallen Kallela exhibited Ad Astra in Dresden and Gothenburg in 1895, thus whoever painted the present work may have seen Gallen-Kallela's painting in one of these locations, suggesting the artist could indeed be Nordic or possibly German. Gallen-Kallela painted two versions of Ad Astra, one of which is in the Gyllenberg Museum, Helsinki, and the other in the Art Institute of Chicago. The present variation appears to be in its original Art Nouveau style frame.
JRT notes: Mystery Picture, signed with an indecipherable monogram and dated 1897. It is clearly some sort of parody of Gallen-Kallela's Ad Astra and I suspect Finnish or at least Scandinavian.
Sold for £3,000
AD ASTRA (TO THE STARS)
signed with the artist's monogram and dated 1897 lower right; oil on canvas; 44 x 27cm; 17 1/4 x 10 3/4in (59.5 x 41.5cm; 23 1/2 x 16 1/4in framed)
This enigmatic painting centred on a naked girl standing in the sea with hair on end and hands outstretched, clearly derives from Ad Astra painted in 1894 by Akseli Gallen-Kallela (Finnish 1865-1931). In the present riff on Gallen-Kallela's composition the figure stands higher in the water, the sky is cloudy, and the artist has added the heads of a man and woman floating half submerged in the water, suggesting a more sombre message.
Gallen Kallela exhibited Ad Astra in Dresden and Gothenburg in 1895, thus whoever painted the present work may have seen Gallen-Kallela's painting in one of these locations, suggesting the artist could indeed be Nordic or possibly German. Gallen-Kallela painted two versions of Ad Astra, one of which is in the Gyllenberg Museum, Helsinki, and the other in the Art Institute of Chicago. The present variation appears to be in its original Art Nouveau style frame.
JRT notes: Mystery Picture, signed with an indecipherable monogram and dated 1897. It is clearly some sort of parody of Gallen-Kallela's Ad Astra and I suspect Finnish or at least Scandinavian.
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
