Representing over 40 years of collecting, The Isabel Goldsmith Collection: Selected Pre-Raphaelite and Symbolist Art is currently being offered online by Christie’s (until 14 July) as part of the Summer Edition of Classic Week in London. Comprising 87 lots, the Collection explores the themes of sleep, dreams, the soul and the afterlife, spiritualism, beauty, literary and classical subjects. The selection of works by the Pre-Raphaelites and their followers include the star lot of the sale, The Return of Orpheus by Sidney Harold Meteyard (estimate: £200,000-£300,000) and examples by Edward Burne-Jones, John Roddam Spencer-Stanhope, Simeon Solomon, Evelyn De Morgan and Henry Ryland. The Symbolist art offered includes works by Levy-Dhurmer, Fernand Khnopff and George Frederic Watts. The sale also features a group of Scandinavian landscapes.
With estimates ranging from £600-£300,000, the collection is expected to realise in excess of £1 million. The pre-sale view is now open to the public (until 14 July).
Peter Brown, Senior Director, International Specialist, Victorian, Pre-Raphaelite and British Impressionist Art, 19th Century European Art, Christie’s, commented:
“Isabel Goldsmith has long impressed me with the curiosity and delight with which she encounters works of art. Hers is a singular vision: many of these Pre-Raphaelite and Symbolist pictures carry a mystical or spiritual dimension. This is an intriguing sale, full of the unexpected, which delights the eye and presents the market with rare opportunities to acquire notable works by Burne-Jones, De Morgan and Watts, and Khnopff, Stevens and Levy-Dhumer. Watts’ The Open Door (estimate: £10,000-£15,000) is sold to benefit Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village.”
The Pre-Raphaelites and their Followers
The sale is led by Sidney Harold Meteyard’s The Return of Orpheus (estimate: £200,000-£300,000). Further highlights include:
Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, Luna (estimate: £70,000-£100,000)
Simeon Solomon, Death Awakening Sleep (estimate: £10,000-£15,000)
Evelyn De Morgan, The Field of the Slain (estimate: £30,000-£50,000)
Symbolist Art
Highlights in this section include:
Fernand Khnopff, La Medusa endormie, c.1896 (estimate: £80,000-£120,000)
Alfred Stevens, Ophelie (Ophelia), 1887 (estimate: £60,000-£100,000)
Lucien Levy-Dhurmer, La Bourrasque, 1897 (estimate: £100,000-£150,000)
Isabel Goldsmith is generously making available for sale The Open Door by G F Watts to benefit Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village. Smith Greenfield is delighted to be a Corporate Partner of Watts Gallery-Artists’ Village. For further information: wattsgallery.org
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Image: Lucien Levy-Dhurmer, La Bourrasque, 1897 © Christie’s Images Limited 2022