Sir Oswald Joseph Hornby Birley, R.O.I., R.P. (British, 1880-1954)

Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's… Read more

THE PROPERTY Of THE LATE SIR PATRICK ASHLEY COOPER, HEXTON MANOR, HERTFORDSHIREHexton Manor in Hertfordshire, originally an early seventeenth century farmhouse was enlarged and altered in the eighteenth century for the French de Lautour family. Caroline Young de Lautour, the eventual heiress of the estate made great improvements in the mid-nineteenth century adding pleasure grounds and extensive internal alterations. It was purchased in 1918 by the wool merchant Sir James Hill, 1st Baronet (1849-1936) before being sold to Scottish Businessman Sir Patrick Ashley Cooper (1887-1961) in 1935. Sir Patrick was a steely and articulate businessman, serving as Governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company for over two decades and eventually as a Director of the Bank of England. He served with distinction in the First and Second World Wars, in the latter organising army supplies for the Government, and was knighted in 1944 for his wartime service. His descendants continued to live at Hexton until 2018. The collection offered today was purchased by Sir Patrick during his tenure at Hexton, with some pieces probably from the well-known dealers Phillips of Hitchin, only a few miles away.

Sir Oswald Joseph Hornby Birley, R.O.I., R.P. (British, 1880-1954)

Portrait of Sir Patrick Ashley Cooper (1887-1961), seated three-quarter length in a grey suit

Details

Sir Oswald Joseph Hornby Birley, R.O.I., R.P. (British, 1880-1954)
Portrait of Sir Patrick Ashley Cooper (1887-1961), seated three-quarter length in a grey suit
signed and dated 'Oswald Birley 1947' (upper right)
oil on canvas
51 x 40 in. (129.5 x 101.6 cm.)

Special notice

Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent.

Brought to you by

Nathaniel Nicholson

nnicholson@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2519

Lot Essay

Sir Oswald Birley painted several members of the Cooper family in the 1940s, probably following Sir Patrick Ashley Cooper's knighthood in 1944.

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