Geoffrey M. and Carol D. Chinn were British collectors, who moved to New York in 1983. They had a passion for Post-war and Modern British artists, particularly those of Jewish heritage, including David Bomberg and Jacob Epstein. Their interest was spread across different media and the group included in this sale also includes two lovely ceramics by the renowned potter Lucie Rie and another by the contemporary ceramicist Jennifer Lee.

Property from the Collection of Geoffrey M. and Carol D. Chinn

Ben Nicholson met Angela Verren Taunt at a Christmas party in Cambridge on 29 December 1971. Angela was a talented painter herself and had been a great admirer of Nicholson’s work. Ben invited Angela to visit his studio soon after they met, and it was clear there was an immediate connection. She shortly became his studio assistant, and the close friendship which developed between the two was of fundamental importance to the last ten years of Nicholson’s life. They also worked as collaborators on occasion. The support and creative exchange he received from Angela was an energizing element, which along with a return to the UK, helped him recapture a creative energy and zest for life and encouraged his artistic output during this final decade.

Property from the Collection of Angela Verren Taunt

Sotheby’s is honoured to present the Leslie &amp; Johanna Garfield Collection at auction across several sales in New York and London in 2023 and 2024, including A Celebration of British Print Making (Sotheby’s London, 7 June 2024). The Garfields’ devotion to amassing an in-depth survey of fine prints, as well as exceptional examples by some of the greatest British artists of the 20th Century, and their steadfast commitment to art-related foundations was exceptional. Their curator Heather Hess wrote that: Their collecting adventure began by chance. Neither had familial nor professional connections to art: Leslie sold townhouses, and Jo was a writer. Jo explained, “This love of art— of prints— was completely spontaneous.” Leslie, then stationed in Germany, happened into a Munich shop, where he became entranced by a German Expressionist woodcut. He walked away, only to return the following weekend to remedy that mistake, unable to shake the object’s hold and prompting what he described as his "unbridled love of works on paper.”

Works from the Estate of Leslie Garfield

The Made in Britain sale hosts some of the finest examples of the "best of British" art from across the twentieth century, these include paintings by Duncan Grant, William Roberts and Ivon Hitchens; ceramics by Lucie Rie and sculptures by Henry Moore and William Turnbull.

Auction Highlights

London

Deputy Chairman UK, Head of Modern British & Irish Art

André Zlattinger

Director, Head of Sale, Modern British and Irish Art

Deputy Director, Specialist, Modern British and Irish Art

Tamsin Golding Yee

Pre-Sale Administrator

Poppy Wright 

Head of Prints, Europe

Yessica Marks

Deputy Director | Specialist

Jennifer Strotz

Meet our Specialists

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Made in Britain celebrates the very best of British creativity, bringing together paintings, works on paper, sculpture, prints, photographs and studio ceramics by the most renowned artists and makers working in the UK in the 20th and 21st centuries. This summer’s iteration of the Made in Britain sale includes the main Modern British Day sale, with works by classic names such as L.S. Lowry, Ben Nicholson, Ivon Hitchens and Lynn Chadwick, alongside their contemporaries who were working across other media at the time. Our Made in Britain sale contextualises these artists in the 'cool Britannia' feel of the 20th century, a cultural moment that continues to inspire British art making of the present day.

Made in Britain Day Auction