.jpg?w=1)
拍品專文
THE PROVENANCE
Sir Frederick Richmond Bt. (1873-1953) began working at Debenhams when a teenager and rose through the ranks to eventually succeed as Chairman in 1927. Under his aegis, this fine London drapery shop became the largest textile distribution empire worldwide.
Sir Frederick's interest in textiles was reflected in his unbridled enthusiasm for another closely related art, the art of needlework. Needlework became a fashionable subject to collect and Sir Frederick was almost certainly one of the main instigators of this. At Debenhams, he founded a department that catered to 'Collectors in search of interesting specimens...of ancient needlework'. And as early as 1907, Sir Frederick assembled his own personal collection that was celebrated as 'the finest in the Country' (as published in a tribute in the Times at the time of his death in 1953). The Edwardian and inter-war period saw the dispersal of many family collections and Sir Frederick - on his way to becoming a millionaire - was in an enviable position to purchase many fine objects from the most important collections that came on the market, including those of Viscountess Wolseley (1906); Geoffrey Whitehead (1915); Lord Abingdon, Ryecote House (1928) and Percival Griffiths (1939). He displayed the collection at his country house, Westoning Manor, Bedfordshire (purchased after 1936) and his palatial London house in 'Millionaire's Row', 10 Kensington Palace Gardens. On Christmas day in 1938, Sir Frederick commissioned a charming series of watercolors showing the needleworks on view in his London house that provides an important historical record showing the arrangement of this superb collection.
Sir Frederick Richmond Bt. (1873-1953) began working at Debenhams when a teenager and rose through the ranks to eventually succeed as Chairman in 1927. Under his aegis, this fine London drapery shop became the largest textile distribution empire worldwide.
Sir Frederick's interest in textiles was reflected in his unbridled enthusiasm for another closely related art, the art of needlework. Needlework became a fashionable subject to collect and Sir Frederick was almost certainly one of the main instigators of this. At Debenhams, he founded a department that catered to 'Collectors in search of interesting specimens...of ancient needlework'. And as early as 1907, Sir Frederick assembled his own personal collection that was celebrated as 'the finest in the Country' (as published in a tribute in the Times at the time of his death in 1953). The Edwardian and inter-war period saw the dispersal of many family collections and Sir Frederick - on his way to becoming a millionaire - was in an enviable position to purchase many fine objects from the most important collections that came on the market, including those of Viscountess Wolseley (1906); Geoffrey Whitehead (1915); Lord Abingdon, Ryecote House (1928) and Percival Griffiths (1939). He displayed the collection at his country house, Westoning Manor, Bedfordshire (purchased after 1936) and his palatial London house in 'Millionaire's Row', 10 Kensington Palace Gardens. On Christmas day in 1938, Sir Frederick commissioned a charming series of watercolors showing the needleworks on view in his London house that provides an important historical record showing the arrangement of this superb collection.