Our homes did not feel rarefied despite the provenance of many of the contents. The accumulated treasures seeped their beauty into their surroundings and the warmth and creativity of the domestic life fed back into the collection of things around us, bringing it all to life. My parent’s creation and re-creation of so many different rooms, has meant that many of the pieces within this collection, have had different incarnations during their time in our family. Sometimes in a bedroom and then in pride of place in a main room, sometimes placed differently within the same room, connected with the same cushion, or painting nearby, or amongst an entirely new group of objects.

An acquisition could have a multitude of reasons for having been chosen: the colour or texture, design or pattern, history or origin all played equally valid parts in the selection process. Sometimes something was chosen for the simple fact that my father liked the person who created or sold it. Most importantly though, because each object was chosen entirely on its own terms and carried with it, its own story, it never, ever grew tired. It could be endlessly reinvented by moving to a different location or by being placed with different companions.

I saw La Gonette many times during the lengthy restoration process spearheaded by my mother, but the first time that I saw it furnished, my father (who by choice had been working alone with his team for a week beforehand) led my mother and I around to see the rooms installed. As room followed room, we got quieter and quieter until our eyes were swimming with tears. The light, the scale, the restoration choices and the assembly of the interiors combined to be so moving, like a love song, and all who stayed there could feel it.

This quest for beauty and history was almost a reflex. There was an instinctive search for it in any environment; natural, manmade, every-day or exceptional. You could be walking through a square in Venice or standing in a layby, Dad would always spot something that no one else had noticed: a wild orchid, an unusual chimney pot that had its double on the other side of the street. Back seat driving would take on a whole new dimension as he would point out wonders that caught his eye, with no regard for what the driver needed to focus on. His enthusiasm and willingness to share his appreciation was always alight and touched all who met him.

Watching the way that our living spaces could be made from interwoven strands of the remarkable and unremarkable, to assemble an environment that really sang, has given me a great appreciation of how it is possible to create feelings of nurture and substantial support out of your surroundings. From ‘the decs’ for a party, to a garden, a house or a single room, wherever it is and however little there may be to work with, my mother and father showed me that every choice quietly made in the curation of that space, can contribute to a place that continually feeds your eyes and soothes your spirit.

My father’s eyes could often be seen resting on a beloved cushion or catching the light moving on a table leg and he would continue the decades of silently appreciative acknowledgment and conversation with the objects gathered throughout his life. As I look around the collection now, the depth and longevity of the conversation is still there. It holds layer on layer of memories: Is it connected to a person or a place? How long was it part of the fabric of our life? Where else was it placed? What did it always sit near to? What is the story that goes with it?

Now it is time for the individual parts of this collection to go their separate ways. To find new homes and become the stories in other peoples’ lives. They will carry with them the resonance of having been so much loved, by a man with a uniquely intuitive gift for weaving stories and beauty through the rooms and spaces he created.

Auction Details

Day 1: Wednesday 4 October 2023 | 10.30am BST | Warwick Square, London (Lots 1-399)
Day 2: Thursday 5 October 2023 | 10.30am BST | La Gonette, France (Lots 400-746)
Day 3: Friday 6 October 2023 | 10.30am BST | (Lots 747-918)

Auction:
The three-day auction will take place at Dreweatts Donnington Priory salerooms.

On View:
London (highlights): Dreweatts, 16-17 Pall Mall, St James's, London SW1Y 5LU
Friday 8 - Thursday 14 September 2023

Newbury (full sale): Dreweatts, Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE
Saturday 30 September - Tuesday 3 October 2023     

Further information:
For details on registration, viewing, bidding, payment and shipping, please see the Auction Information Page here. 

General enquiries: + 44 (0) 1635 553 553 | housesales@dreweatts.com
Press enquiries: smaylor@dreweatts.com 

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