11th Feb, 2026 11:00
The Estate of John Russell Taylor: Author, Critic, Collector
96
⊕ MICHAEL LEONARD (BRITISH 1933-2023)
ABANDONED ENGINES, FORMENTERA II
signed and dated LEONARD '73 lower right; acrylic on board; 42 x 42cm; 16 1/2 x 16 1/2in (57 x 57cm; 22 1/2 x 22 1/2in framed)
Provenance: Fischer Fine Art Limited, London (from whom purchased)
(probably) Exhibited: London, Fischer Fine Art, Michael Leonard, 1974
Born in India, Leonard studied illustration and commercial design at St Martin's School of Art in London. A successful illustrator, he worked in a studio attached to the offices of Artists Partners, his agent in Soho, only starting to paint in the early 1970s. He held his first one man show at Fischer Fine Art in 1974. JRT was a close friend of Leonard's for many years, and wrote the introduction for the catalogue of his show Verisimilitude, at Stiebel Modern Gallery, New York in 1992 (see lots 169 & 324).
Sold for £650
ABANDONED ENGINES, FORMENTERA II
signed and dated LEONARD '73 lower right; acrylic on board; 42 x 42cm; 16 1/2 x 16 1/2in (57 x 57cm; 22 1/2 x 22 1/2in framed)
Provenance: Fischer Fine Art Limited, London (from whom purchased)
(probably) Exhibited: London, Fischer Fine Art, Michael Leonard, 1974
Born in India, Leonard studied illustration and commercial design at St Martin's School of Art in London. A successful illustrator, he worked in a studio attached to the offices of Artists Partners, his agent in Soho, only starting to paint in the early 1970s. He held his first one man show at Fischer Fine Art in 1974. JRT was a close friend of Leonard's for many years, and wrote the introduction for the catalogue of his show Verisimilitude, at Stiebel Modern Gallery, New York in 1992 (see lots 169 & 324).
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
