Ending 22nd Mar, 2026 14:00
Olympia Timed: Paintings, Works on Paper and Sculpture. March 2026
482
ALBERT RUTHERSTON (BRITISH 1881-1953)
THE RIVER AT BILLY-SUR-ALLIER, FRANCE
signed A. Rothenstein. lower right; signed and inscribed THE ALLIER AT BILLY / A. Rothenstein / Savile Club / 107 Piccadilly on a label on the reverse
oil on canvas
44.5 x 59.5cm; 17 1/2 x 23 1/2in
54.5 x 69cm; 21 1/2 x 27 1/4in (framed)
Property of a Lady, Hampshire
Provenance
The Leicester Galleries (Ernest Brown and Phillips Ltd), London
Samuel Hammersley
Thence by descent to the present owner, grand-daughter of the above
Painted circa 1904-1905, when Rutherston visited Billy-sur-Allier near Clermont-Ferrand in France on painting trips with Spencer Gore (1878-1914) over two consecutive summers.
Rutherston had joined the Slade School of Art aged just sixteen in its late 19th century heyday, when Fred Brown was professor, assisted by Henry Tonks, Philip Wilson Steer and Walter Russell. There he fell in with a gilded set of artists, befriending Augustus John and William Orpen. His elder brother, William Rothenstein, dubbed them the 'Three Musketeers'. (Albert changed his name from Rothenstein to Rutherston during the First World War).
The trio first visited France together in the summer of 1899, staying in Vattetot, along the Normandy coast from Etretat, where they were joined by William and Charles Conder. A succession of holiday painting campaigns in France followed, including with Spencer Gore. Another view of Billy-sur-Allier with the river in the background painted by the artist in 1905 was sold at Olympia Auctions on 14th June 2023, lot 40.
Sold for £400
THE RIVER AT BILLY-SUR-ALLIER, FRANCE
signed A. Rothenstein. lower right; signed and inscribed THE ALLIER AT BILLY / A. Rothenstein / Savile Club / 107 Piccadilly on a label on the reverse
oil on canvas
44.5 x 59.5cm; 17 1/2 x 23 1/2in
54.5 x 69cm; 21 1/2 x 27 1/4in (framed)
Property of a Lady, Hampshire
Provenance
The Leicester Galleries (Ernest Brown and Phillips Ltd), London
Samuel Hammersley
Thence by descent to the present owner, grand-daughter of the above
Painted circa 1904-1905, when Rutherston visited Billy-sur-Allier near Clermont-Ferrand in France on painting trips with Spencer Gore (1878-1914) over two consecutive summers.
Rutherston had joined the Slade School of Art aged just sixteen in its late 19th century heyday, when Fred Brown was professor, assisted by Henry Tonks, Philip Wilson Steer and Walter Russell. There he fell in with a gilded set of artists, befriending Augustus John and William Orpen. His elder brother, William Rothenstein, dubbed them the 'Three Musketeers'. (Albert changed his name from Rothenstein to Rutherston during the First World War).
The trio first visited France together in the summer of 1899, staying in Vattetot, along the Normandy coast from Etretat, where they were joined by William and Charles Conder. A succession of holiday painting campaigns in France followed, including with Spencer Gore. Another view of Billy-sur-Allier with the river in the background painted by the artist in 1905 was sold at Olympia Auctions on 14th June 2023, lot 40.
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
