With this comes an iron discipline, the desire and determination to control, to go on and on until every aspect of a room, a gown, a table arrangement, or upholstery is done to her idea of absolute perfection. She achieves this by a hands-on approach that will see her heaving furniture and sweeping floors as well as attending to the finest details of dress and jewellery. Her work and that of her company, Anouska Hempel Limited, encompasses interiors, furniture and furnishings, gardens, landscaping, food, hospitality in its widest sense and, of course couture.

Hempel is self-taught. She never attended a professional design course or took an architecture or landscape degree. She has no diplomas in interior design or couture. Despite this, she is the archetypal professional, totally committed to her work, determined to refine, and perfect, rejecting anything short of ambitious goals.

She has had a major impact on many spheres of design, most notably hotels. At Blakes in London she invented the boutique hotel, where no room repeats another and a personal touch is apparent everywhere.

With Anouska Hempel comes an incessant search for perfection and a determination to reject, refine, polish and tweak until it is obtained. Despite her well-known tempestuousness, those who work with her pay tribute to her talent and remain fiercely loyal. In 2022 she was presented the prestigious Andrew Martin Lifetime Achievement Award by HRH Princess Michael of Kent for ‘her elusive, impossible to define but instantly recognisable design’.

The Grand Manner, in the French sense, as can be seen at Shaw House, is about creating imposing sequences of space and also commanding designs that can be taken in at a single glance. The style was conceived by the 17th century landscape artist Andre Le Notre for the Gardens of the Chateau de Vaux le Vicomte, but it applies equally to interiors. In Hempel’s work the Grand Manner is enriched by the concept of layering and an orient inspired love of veiled effects, in particular the use of screens to add an air of mystery, partially concealing, but also hinting at what lies beyond. Every table top offers up a still life of tableau, with arrangements of lamps and candles, cubes and spheres.

Hempel’s most compelling asset is her innate sense of romance and quest to capture atmosphere. It is this sense that allows her designs to transcend their geographical surroundings. They can be found across the globe, from cosmopolitan New York to the tranquil mountains of Saltzburg. Hempel’s work embodies that rare combination of being forward thinking and yet remaining truly timeless.

Page Turning Catalogue

Auction Details

Tuesday 15 August, 10.30am BST
Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE

Browse the auction
Sign up to email alerts

VIEWING:

• Saturday 12 August: 10am - 3pm
• Sunday 13 August: 10am - 3pm
• Monday 14 August: 10am - 4pm
• Tuesday 15 August: from 8.30am