11th Feb, 2026 11:00
The Estate of John Russell Taylor: Author, Critic, Collector
25
CLAUD LOVAT FRASER (BRITISH 1890-1921)
A FARM IN NO MAN'S LAND
signed C. Lovat Fraser upper right; titled and dated Nov: 1915. Ploegsteert upper left; signed and dated C Lovat Fraser 1916 on the mount lower right; pen and black ink and blue wash on paper; 11 x 15cm; 4 1/4 x 6in (29 x 29cm; 11 1/2 x 11 1/2in framed)
Lovat drew the present work at Ploegsteert in Wallonia in the autumn of 1915 following front line action in the the battle of Loos that raged between 25th September and 8th October 1915. The battle was the major Franco-British engagement with German forces that year and the first time British forces had used gas, but it ended with no consequential gains and considerable loss of life. Lovat Fraser served with the 14th Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry, but after shell shock and a further gas attack that December he was invalided back to England in early 1916. After the War he collaborated with the Curwen Press on paper patterns (see lot 270), book illustrations, book plates and advertisements, and produced set and costume designs for the theatre and ballet including for productions at Stratford-on-Avon, the Lyric Hammersmith and the Coliseum. He married the American actress Grace Inez Cranford in 1917 with whom he had a daughter. He died suddenly on a family holiday in Dymchurch, Kent.
No Reserve
Sold for £2,400
A FARM IN NO MAN'S LAND
signed C. Lovat Fraser upper right; titled and dated Nov: 1915. Ploegsteert upper left; signed and dated C Lovat Fraser 1916 on the mount lower right; pen and black ink and blue wash on paper; 11 x 15cm; 4 1/4 x 6in (29 x 29cm; 11 1/2 x 11 1/2in framed)
Lovat drew the present work at Ploegsteert in Wallonia in the autumn of 1915 following front line action in the the battle of Loos that raged between 25th September and 8th October 1915. The battle was the major Franco-British engagement with German forces that year and the first time British forces had used gas, but it ended with no consequential gains and considerable loss of life. Lovat Fraser served with the 14th Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry, but after shell shock and a further gas attack that December he was invalided back to England in early 1916. After the War he collaborated with the Curwen Press on paper patterns (see lot 270), book illustrations, book plates and advertisements, and produced set and costume designs for the theatre and ballet including for productions at Stratford-on-Avon, the Lyric Hammersmith and the Coliseum. He married the American actress Grace Inez Cranford in 1917 with whom he had a daughter. He died suddenly on a family holiday in Dymchurch, Kent.
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
