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Lot Essay
Stephen Tennant (b.1906), a British socialite and aesthete, is often described as “the brightest” of the “Bright Young People”. He is also believed to be the inspiration for the eccentric Lord Sebastian Flyte in Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited.
Tennant inherited Wilsford Manor in 1929 shortly after his mother’s death. The Arts & Craft house dating to 1906 was designed for his parents by Detmar Blow and imitates the 17th Century style. Visitors to Wilsford included writers and artists such as Cecil Beaton, E.M. Forster, the Sitwells, and the poet, Siegfried Sassoon who became Tennant’s lover in the late 1920s.
Wilsford Manor’s original interiors included William Morris curtains and wood work by Ernest Gimson. Stephen was excited by the prospect of re-decorating and injecting his own taste into his childhood home. He is thought to have directed much of the refurbishment from his bed.
Stephen was introduced to Syrie Maugham by his good friend, Cecil Beaton. Appointed as the designer for Wilsford in the 1930s, Maugham introduced whites and pastel shades as well as her iconic glamorous silks, satins and fringes. In 1937 Cecil Beaton described the new interior at Wilsford: ‘ice-cream colours prevail’.
Sleigh beds were used in many of Maugham’s projects and the present bed epitomises the glamour and sumptuousness of her designs. It is thought that this bed was made specifically for Tennant, being taller than most beds. Two photographs taken by Cecil Beaton appear to show the present bed, one depicting David Hockney and Stephen Tennant sitting on the bed. An image on pg. 51 of The World of Interiors, 'The Best of Interiors: 25 years of the world's most influential design magazine', London, 2006, almost certainly shows the present bed within an article on Wilsford and is included in the lot.
Tennant inherited Wilsford Manor in 1929 shortly after his mother’s death. The Arts & Craft house dating to 1906 was designed for his parents by Detmar Blow and imitates the 17th Century style. Visitors to Wilsford included writers and artists such as Cecil Beaton, E.M. Forster, the Sitwells, and the poet, Siegfried Sassoon who became Tennant’s lover in the late 1920s.
Wilsford Manor’s original interiors included William Morris curtains and wood work by Ernest Gimson. Stephen was excited by the prospect of re-decorating and injecting his own taste into his childhood home. He is thought to have directed much of the refurbishment from his bed.
Stephen was introduced to Syrie Maugham by his good friend, Cecil Beaton. Appointed as the designer for Wilsford in the 1930s, Maugham introduced whites and pastel shades as well as her iconic glamorous silks, satins and fringes. In 1937 Cecil Beaton described the new interior at Wilsford: ‘ice-cream colours prevail’.
Sleigh beds were used in many of Maugham’s projects and the present bed epitomises the glamour and sumptuousness of her designs. It is thought that this bed was made specifically for Tennant, being taller than most beds. Two photographs taken by Cecil Beaton appear to show the present bed, one depicting David Hockney and Stephen Tennant sitting on the bed. An image on pg. 51 of The World of Interiors, 'The Best of Interiors: 25 years of the world's most influential design magazine', London, 2006, almost certainly shows the present bed within an article on Wilsford and is included in the lot.