11th Feb, 2026 11:00
The Estate of John Russell Taylor: Author, Critic, Collector
66
⊕ KAFF GERRARD (BRITISH 1894-1970)
MOONLIGHT
oil on board; 27.5 x 39cm; 10 3/4 x 15 1/4in (42 x 53.5cm; 16 1/2 x 21in framed)
Provenance: Alfred Horace Gerrard (1889-1998), the artist's husband (from whom gifted)
Exhibited: Canterbury, Royal Museum and Art Gallery, Kaff Gerrard, 1991
JRT notes that 'the frame is designed and carved by the artist's husband A.H. Gerrard for long professor of sculpture at the Slade. This is almost unique as the painting by her in private hands outside professor Gerrard's who gave it to me.'
Painter and potter Kaff Gerrard (née Katherine Leigh-Pemberton) studied at the Slade where her tutor, Philip Wilson Steer, described her as 'the most natural painter he had ever known'. She met her husband to be, Alfred Gerrard there in 1920 where he was appointed head of sculpture in 1925, and became Professor of Sculpture (1949-1968). Together they worked closely on New Millbank Stoneware which they exhibited to great acclaim at Colnaghi’s in 1931. It was the only exhibition Kaff held during her lifetime. The couple also collaborated on woodcuts for book illustrations. They married in 1933. JRT wrote 'Her work once seen is never forgotten, ...and never confused with that of anyone else. It combines technical mastery with personal vision in a way that only great art achieves.'
Sold for £1,900
MOONLIGHT
oil on board; 27.5 x 39cm; 10 3/4 x 15 1/4in (42 x 53.5cm; 16 1/2 x 21in framed)
Provenance: Alfred Horace Gerrard (1889-1998), the artist's husband (from whom gifted)
Exhibited: Canterbury, Royal Museum and Art Gallery, Kaff Gerrard, 1991
JRT notes that 'the frame is designed and carved by the artist's husband A.H. Gerrard for long professor of sculpture at the Slade. This is almost unique as the painting by her in private hands outside professor Gerrard's who gave it to me.'
Painter and potter Kaff Gerrard (née Katherine Leigh-Pemberton) studied at the Slade where her tutor, Philip Wilson Steer, described her as 'the most natural painter he had ever known'. She met her husband to be, Alfred Gerrard there in 1920 where he was appointed head of sculpture in 1925, and became Professor of Sculpture (1949-1968). Together they worked closely on New Millbank Stoneware which they exhibited to great acclaim at Colnaghi’s in 1931. It was the only exhibition Kaff held during her lifetime. The couple also collaborated on woodcuts for book illustrations. They married in 1933. JRT wrote 'Her work once seen is never forgotten, ...and never confused with that of anyone else. It combines technical mastery with personal vision in a way that only great art achieves.'
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
