Ending 22nd Mar, 2026 14:00
Olympia Timed: Paintings, Works on Paper and Sculpture. March 2026
461
PHILIP MAY (BRITISH 1864-1903)
THE FRENCH LESSON
signed and dated PHIL MAY / 93 lower right; titled The Professor: 'En Francais nous avons bien moins de mots qu'en anglais' / (Lazy) pupil: '(Pour) moi je trouve qu'il y en a encore beaucoup trop.' lower edge
pen and black ink on paper
35 x 25cm; 13 3/4 x 9 3/4in
62 x 47cm; 24 1/2 x 18 1/2in (framed)
Property from a Private Collection, Surrey
Phil May was one of the most influential British caricaturists of his generation, who created a new style of humourous cartoons. Particularly recognisable with his severe jet-black haircut, he was sometimes called ‘the grandfather of British Illustration’ and was especially admired for his lack of snobishness when depicting British society. His illustrations were peppered with inventive wit.
May said of his early days: ‘I never had a drawing lesson in my life, but I can’t remember a time when I didn’t draw ... When I was sixteen I made up my mind to come to London ... I had no friends and no introductions ... But in six months, I worked for Society, the Penny Illustrated, St Stephen’s Review and the Pictorial World’ (quoted in William Feaver, Masters of Caricature. From Hogarth and Gillray to Scarfe and Levine, London, 1981, page 117).
His flamboyant and bohemian character showed in his Holland Park Studio, decorated in Japanese style with prints by Hokusai and further embellished by hanging plaster limbs. Described as generous but always 'hard up', he was an alcoholic and died of cirrhosis and tuberculosis at the age of 39. The Leicester Galleries held a memorial show of his work in October 1903 as its opening exhibition.
Sold for £90
THE FRENCH LESSON
signed and dated PHIL MAY / 93 lower right; titled The Professor: 'En Francais nous avons bien moins de mots qu'en anglais' / (Lazy) pupil: '(Pour) moi je trouve qu'il y en a encore beaucoup trop.' lower edge
pen and black ink on paper
35 x 25cm; 13 3/4 x 9 3/4in
62 x 47cm; 24 1/2 x 18 1/2in (framed)
Property from a Private Collection, Surrey
Phil May was one of the most influential British caricaturists of his generation, who created a new style of humourous cartoons. Particularly recognisable with his severe jet-black haircut, he was sometimes called ‘the grandfather of British Illustration’ and was especially admired for his lack of snobishness when depicting British society. His illustrations were peppered with inventive wit.
May said of his early days: ‘I never had a drawing lesson in my life, but I can’t remember a time when I didn’t draw ... When I was sixteen I made up my mind to come to London ... I had no friends and no introductions ... But in six months, I worked for Society, the Penny Illustrated, St Stephen’s Review and the Pictorial World’ (quoted in William Feaver, Masters of Caricature. From Hogarth and Gillray to Scarfe and Levine, London, 1981, page 117).
His flamboyant and bohemian character showed in his Holland Park Studio, decorated in Japanese style with prints by Hokusai and further embellished by hanging plaster limbs. Described as generous but always 'hard up', he was an alcoholic and died of cirrhosis and tuberculosis at the age of 39. The Leicester Galleries held a memorial show of his work in October 1903 as its opening exhibition.
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.
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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
