Ending 22nd Mar, 2026 14:00
Olympia Timed: Paintings, Works on Paper and Sculpture. March 2026
456
WILLIAM HEATH ROBINSON (BRITISH 1872-1944)
LIFT COMFORT
titled lower centre
pen and ink on paper
33 x 22cm; 13 x 8 1/2in
51.5 x 37cm; 20 x 14 1/2in (framed)
Property from a Private Collection, Surrey
Provenance
Chris Beetles Gallery, London
Purchased from the above in the early 1990s
Literature
William Heath Robinson, How to Live in a Flat, London, 1936, p. 91, illustrated
During 1932 and 1933 Heath Robinson completed a series of cartoons for the magazine The Sketch titled 'Flat Life', which depicted various gadgets designed to make the most of limited space available in a modern flat. The series inspired K.R.G. Browne (1895-1940) to collaborate with William Heath Robinson on How to Live in a Flat published by Hutchinson & Co in 1936. Heath Robinson's illustrations are typically witty, featuring absurd situations and often futuristic inventions. Other comic titles Heath Robinson and Browne collaborated on included How to be a Perfect Husband and How to Make a Garden Grow published in 1937 and 1938 respectively.
Sold for £850
LIFT COMFORT
titled lower centre
pen and ink on paper
33 x 22cm; 13 x 8 1/2in
51.5 x 37cm; 20 x 14 1/2in (framed)
Property from a Private Collection, Surrey
Provenance
Chris Beetles Gallery, London
Purchased from the above in the early 1990s
Literature
William Heath Robinson, How to Live in a Flat, London, 1936, p. 91, illustrated
During 1932 and 1933 Heath Robinson completed a series of cartoons for the magazine The Sketch titled 'Flat Life', which depicted various gadgets designed to make the most of limited space available in a modern flat. The series inspired K.R.G. Browne (1895-1940) to collaborate with William Heath Robinson on How to Live in a Flat published by Hutchinson & Co in 1936. Heath Robinson's illustrations are typically witty, featuring absurd situations and often futuristic inventions. Other comic titles Heath Robinson and Browne collaborated on included How to be a Perfect Husband and How to Make a Garden Grow published in 1937 and 1938 respectively.
Auction: Olympia Timed: Paintings, Works on Paper and Sculpture. March 2026, ending 22nd Mar, 2026
MANY LOTS TO BE OFFERED WITHOUT RESERVE
Our biannual online auction of paintings, works on paper and sculpture offers a wide range of categories and works from the 17th century to the present day. Designed to appeal to all tastes, it comprises a vast array of subject matter with very attractive 'middle-market' estimates with many lots offered without reserve.
The current sale features a number of collections. These include a quantity of lively costume designs by Doris Zinkheisen and portraits of stars of screen and stage by Boris Smirnoff from the Vineyard Hotel, Stockcross in Berkshire (lots 572-590 & 623-642 respectively); a fascinating range of post-war Modernist paintings consigned by a collector in south London, and the first sixty-four lots in the sale (lots 401-465) from a private collection in Surrey which are especially strong in prints and watercolours of topographical and botanical interest.
Other works in the sale with fascinating stories attached include lot 479 of Leslie Howard by Antony Beauchamp, lots 568-570 by Madge Gill and lot 644, a very early 1937 celluloid of Doc, the head dwarf in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Disney’s first full length animated feature.
Contact the Pictures Department for further information | pictures@olympiaauctions.com | +44 (0)20 7806 5541
PLEASE NOTE:
The lots close 30 seconds apart from each other, but if there is another bid in the final 10 minutes of a particular lot closing, the time of this lot will be extended.
The office is closed over the weekend, but the pictures@olympiaauctions.com email is being monitored. Please contact us here if you have any queries.
PUBLIC EXHIBITION:
Sunday 15th March: 12pm to 4pm
Monday 16th March: 10am to 8pm (Drinks 6 to 8pm)
Tuesday 17th March: 10am to 5pm
VIEWING BY APPOINTMENT:
Wednesday 18th March: 10am - 5pm
Thursday 19th March: 10am - 5pm
Friday 20th March: 10am - 5pm
AUCTION:
Ends: From 2pm, 22th March, 2026
Viewing
PUBLIC EXHIBITION:
Sunday 15th March: 12pm to 4pm
Monday 16th March: 10am to 8pm (Drinks 6 to 8pm)
Tuesday 17th March: 10am to 5pm
VIEWING BY APPOINTMENT:
Wednesday 18th March: 10am - 5pm
Thursday 19th March: 10am - 5pm
Friday 20th March: 10am - 5pm
AUCTION:
Ends: From 2pm, 22th March, 2026
