Skip to main content
Ended

Collections

Including a Nicky Haslam Interior; Selected Items from the Estate of Michael Winner; and an Important Archive of Photographs by Cecil Beaton from the Estate of Geoffrey Sawyer
28 November – 16 December 2024

Bonhams is delighted to offer for sale the selected contents of a Holland Park residence, decorated by the legendary Nicky Haslam. The house was first built in the 1860s as the London suburbs grew with the increasing prosperity of the capital. According to Architectural Digest properties like this one 'sacrificed grand proportions in the interest of utility and the exploitation of space' which subsequently posed 'a difficult challenge to the interior designer.'

Given free reign and a deadline of six months, Nicky Haslam transformed the interiors into whimsical Rococo-style spaces, inspired by European country houses. In his words, 'florals abound', with the soft colour palette and furnishings creating 'that Nancy Lancaster quality of the colour hanging in the air'. Offered here is a selection of furniture, prints and mirrors sourced or designed by Nicky for this carefully curated space.

Alongside this collection Bonhams is also bringing to market the selected items from the estate of Michael Winner, the British filmmaker, writer and personality. Meticulously bound shooting scripts are littered with annotations and 'on-the-move' edits, providing an in depth look at his film making process from his earliest films in the 1960's to his final film, Parting Shots, in 1997.

Concluding the sale is another career-spanning collection; Geoffrey Sawyer's archive of photographs by Cecil Beaton. Sawyer was a long-standing assistant and printer of Beaton, with his own work also part of the National Portrait Gallery's collection. Offered here are some of Beaton's most famous photographs of the Royal Family, notably Queen Elizabeth II and the (then) Prince Charles; the glittering stars of stage, screen and society; and more intimate portraits of family and friends.

Please click here for information on Collection, Storage and Shipping

Auction highlights

Lot gallery

181 lots available

Persian School20th century Two illustrated leaves, the paintings after 16th Century Persian originals, depicting an enthroned ruler with courtiers, and cavalry in combat, painted on to 17th-18th Century leaves from a manuscript of Persian poetry, framed (2)

British School(19th/20th Century)Two cricket prints 2

Stanley McMurtry "MAC"(born 1936)Two original cartoons

Raymond Allen Jackson(JAK) (British, 1927-1997)Three original cartoons "Are you sure it was our side who drew up the list?", for the London Standard 28th October 1986

Michael Brian Davis Ffolkes(British, 1925-1988)Two original cartoons The Big Sleep, signed (lower left), pen & ink, wash and gouache, for Punch, 9 October 1978 upon the release of the film, depicting Candy Clark, Oliver Reed, John Mills, Robert Mitchum and Sarah Miles, the image: 19 x 24; and another, 'Michael Winner in his office in Sackville Street', initialled (lower right), pen & ink and wash, published by Punch, circa 1977, 23.5 x 17.5cm (2)

Christopher 'Kipper' Williams(British, born 1951)'I demand a better table!'

Play It Cool; The Cool Mikado (1962) Independent Artists (Production) Ltd., 1962; Film Productions of Gilbert and Sullivan Operas Ltd., 1962 5

Richard Amsel(American, 1947 - 1985)The Big Sleep Original poster artwork for the 1977 film the image: 58 x 40.5cm (22 13/16 x 15 15/16in), the sheet: 68 x 51cm (26 3/4 x 20 1/16in).

News and stories

Additional information