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Lot Essay
A pair of related needlework sofas, originally from Hornby Castle, Yorkshire was offered anonymously, Christie's, London, 10 July 2003, lot 125.
Sir Philip Sassoon (1888-1939) was one of the most remarkable Englishmen of his day. A Member of Parliament from the age of twenty-three, he also served as Private Secretary to General Haig (1915-19) and to Lloyd George (1920-22), Secretary of State for Air (from 1924) and Commissioner of Works (1937), as well as Chairman of The Trustees of the National Gallery and a Trustee of the Tate Gallery and the Wallace Collection. The fortune which he inherited in his twenties from his father and Rothschild grandparents also permitted him to deploy his considerable energies as a host, aviator and patron of the arts. He completely remodelled the two houses which he had inherited, 25 Park Lane, London, and Trent Park, Hertfordshire (where this sofa is recorded in 1939) and built from scratch a third, Port Lympne, Kent, begun by Sir Herbert Baker in about 1912 and completed by Philip Tilden in 1918-21. It provided a suitable setting for the house parties that were held there and is now recognized as one of the great English country houses of the century.
Sir Philip Sassoon (1888-1939) was one of the most remarkable Englishmen of his day. A Member of Parliament from the age of twenty-three, he also served as Private Secretary to General Haig (1915-19) and to Lloyd George (1920-22), Secretary of State for Air (from 1924) and Commissioner of Works (1937), as well as Chairman of The Trustees of the National Gallery and a Trustee of the Tate Gallery and the Wallace Collection. The fortune which he inherited in his twenties from his father and Rothschild grandparents also permitted him to deploy his considerable energies as a host, aviator and patron of the arts. He completely remodelled the two houses which he had inherited, 25 Park Lane, London, and Trent Park, Hertfordshire (where this sofa is recorded in 1939) and built from scratch a third, Port Lympne, Kent, begun by Sir Herbert Baker in about 1912 and completed by Philip Tilden in 1918-21. It provided a suitable setting for the house parties that were held there and is now recognized as one of the great English country houses of the century.