11th Feb, 2026 11:00
The Estate of John Russell Taylor: Author, Critic, Collector
32
⊕ MONTAGUE SMYTH (BRITISH 1863-1965)
THE CLIFF
pencil, black chalk and watercolour on paper; 12 x 14.5cm; 4 3/4 x 5 3/4in (26.5 x 28.5cm; 10 1/2 x 11 1/4in framed)
Painted circa 1905. Smyth studied in France and Italy and under Fred Brown at Westminster School of Art. In 1894 he joined the Royal Society of British Artists, started showing at the Royal Academy and had a one-man exhibition at Dowdeswell Galleries on Bond Street in 1899. He was a founder member of the London Sketch Club in 1898, and in 1904 joined the Royal Institiute of Oil Painters (he went on to become President of both organisations). Smyth travelled through China and Japan in 1905, the body of work he produced there (likely including the present work), forming the basis of a solo exhibition at Baillie Gallery the following year. With the outbreak of the First World War Smyth falsified his age and served with the Artists’ Rifles. His last one-man exhibition was at the Fine Art Society in 1921. Belgrave Gallery organised a touring show of his work in 1978.
Sold for £160
THE CLIFF
pencil, black chalk and watercolour on paper; 12 x 14.5cm; 4 3/4 x 5 3/4in (26.5 x 28.5cm; 10 1/2 x 11 1/4in framed)
Painted circa 1905. Smyth studied in France and Italy and under Fred Brown at Westminster School of Art. In 1894 he joined the Royal Society of British Artists, started showing at the Royal Academy and had a one-man exhibition at Dowdeswell Galleries on Bond Street in 1899. He was a founder member of the London Sketch Club in 1898, and in 1904 joined the Royal Institiute of Oil Painters (he went on to become President of both organisations). Smyth travelled through China and Japan in 1905, the body of work he produced there (likely including the present work), forming the basis of a solo exhibition at Baillie Gallery the following year. With the outbreak of the First World War Smyth falsified his age and served with the Artists’ Rifles. His last one-man exhibition was at the Fine Art Society in 1921. Belgrave Gallery organised a touring show of his work in 1978.
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
