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Auction Results

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Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire: The Last of the Mitford Sisters

02 March 2016 | 10:00 AM GMT | London

SALE TOTAL

1,777,838GBP
Browse Lots
  • 11
    A Japanese gilt-decorated lacquer guardian figure, Meiji Period, late 19th century
    LOT SOLD.62,500GBP
  • 468
    Diamond and ruby brooch, circa 1880
    LOT SOLD.62,500GBP
  • 144
    Waugh, Evelyn
    Brideshead Revisted. The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder. Chapman and Hall, 1945 [1944]
    LOT SOLD.52,500GBP
  • 270
    John Atkinson Grimshaw
    Bolton Abbey by Moonlight; A Wooded Landscape with a Woman Walking on a Path in the Moonlight
    LOT SOLD.52,500GBP
  • 72
    Sir George Clausen, R.A., R.W.S., R.I.
    The Potato Patch: October Twilight
    LOT SOLD.50,000GBP
Browse Lots
Sale Number: L16318 Lots : 465

SALE TOTAL

1,777,838GBP DOWNLOAD RESULTS
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Overview

RESULTS

In a packed salesroom at Sotheby’s London, hundreds of collectors gathered to witness the sale of the personal collection of Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire (1920-2014). Over 1000 participants drove the sale total to £1,777,838, over three times the pre-sale estimate (£500,000-700,000).

The youngest of the Mitford Sisters, the Duchess became one of the most loved figures of the 20th-century. For half a century the chatelaine of Chatsworth, one of England’s greatest stately homes, she was an instinctive entrepreneur, patron of the arts, author, countrywoman and – famously – a great poultry enthusiast. Her friends included President Kennedy, Winston Churchill, Lucian Freud, Evelyn Waugh, Alan Bennett, members of The Royal Family, Hubert de Givenchy, Oscar de la Renta and Cecil Beaton.

The items offered at auction today came from The Old Vicarage, a charming 18th-century house in Edensor, a village on the Chatsworth Estate, where the Duchess spent the last ten years of her life. Particular highlights of the auction included a true first edition of Evelyn Waugh’s best known novel, Brideshead Revisted (£52,500); a late 19th-century Japanese gilt-decorated lacquer Guardian figure (£62,500); and a pair of paintings by John Atkinson Grimshaw of Bolton Abbey, the much-loved Devonshire estate in North Yorkshire (£52,500).

AUCTION DETAILS

A remarkable woman of our time, Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire (1920-2014) led a life as extraordinary as that of her siblings, the legendary Mitford sisters. The Duchess was a woman of elegant taste and sensibility. The wonderful objects with which she lived illustrate so much of her story, from exquisite jewels gifted by her husband to a rare copy of Brideshead Revisited personally inscribed by her friend Evelyn Waugh; all tell of a life well-lived.  Painted by Freud and photographed by Weber, Testino, Beaton and Parkinson, it is the contents of her final home, The Old Vicarage at Edensor on the Chatsworth estate, which perhaps paint the most vivid final portrait. This historic auction will offer fine and decorative art, jewels and the Duchess of Devonshire’s library. 

conditions of sale Saleroom Notice

Contact Information

David Macdonald
Senior Director
Senior Specialist
English & Continental Furniture
+44 20 72 93 5107
david.macdonald@sothebys.com
Henry House
Senior Director, Head of Department
Furniture and Decorative Arts
+44 20 7293 5486
henry.house@sothebys.com
Thomas Williams
Deputy Director
Specialist
English Furniture
+44 20 7293 6211
thomas.williams@sothebys.com
Charlie Minter
Director
Specialist
British & Irish Art Post 1850
+44 20 7293 5925
charlie.minter@sothebys.com
Simon Toll
Senior Director
Head of Department
British & Irish Art Post 1850
+44 20 7293 5731
simon.toll@sothebys.com
Robin Cawdron-Stewart
Director
Specialist
Modern & Post-War British Art
+44 207 293 5483
robin.cawdron-stewart@sothebys.com
Justin Roberts
Specialist
Head of Catalogue Production
Jewellery
+44 (0)20 7293 5310
justin.roberts@sothebys.com
Richard Hird
Assistant Vice President
Specialist
European Ceramics
+1 212 894 1442
Richard.Hird@sothebys.com
Vivian Tong
Deputy Director
Head of Mid-Season Sales
Chinese Works of Art
+852 2822 9027
vivian.tong@sothebys.com
Elisabeth Banfield
Specialist
European Sculpture & Works of Art
+44 20 7293 5745
elisabeth.banfield@sothebys.com
James Clare
Specialist
Silver
+44 20 7293 5564
james.clare@sothebys.com
Charlie Foxhall
Associate Specialist
Watches
+41 22 908 48 30
charlie.foxhall@sothebys.com
Gina Tammaro
Client Management
Furniture & Decorative Arts
+44 20 7293 5533
gina.tammaro@sothebys.com
   
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