Chiswick Auctions is returning to its roots. 25 years ago, the auction house started off in rooms in the Barley Mow Passage.
A quarter of a century later, following incredible growth in the number of departments, areas of specialism, and the breadth of works of art, the auction house will be headquartered in the old Sanderson Wallpaper warehouse on the Barley Mow passage, minutes from the main shops and bustle of Chiswick High Road.
The move will be completed by 1 September. Commenting on the move, owner and Managing Director Leigh Osborne said: “I am incredibly excited by the new opportunities afforded by our move.
"The upgrade in terms of what we can offer clients is beyond what I thought possible.
"Chiswick Auctions is expanding, adding more departments and specialists.
"Our new headquarters will allow us to make the most of this growth, and offer the best of ourselves to our buyers and vendors.”
Chiswick Auctions is a privately owned, well-established London auction house that champions works of art from all eras and mediums.
With 20 specialist departments, regular dedicated and themed sales are held across a breadth of specialisms, catering to a variety of collectors, art enthusiasts and private buyers.
The auction house is moving out of its current Colville Road building, which is being demolished and redeveloped as part of the new Bollo Lane housing development.
The new headquarters on Barley Mow Passage, minutes from Chiswick High Road’s abundance of cafes, delicatessens, bookshops, and supermarkets, is situated close to bus routes and tube stations at Chiswick Park and Turnham Green.
Metered parking is available nearby. The headquarters offers clients a complete upgrade on current facilities, as well as housing our senior valuations team, offering probate and estate appraisal services.
A brand new state-of-the-art gallery space will showcase sales, from urban and contemporary art, watches and jewellery, to designer handbags and fashion, modern design and photographs.
The on-site café affords clients the opportunity to take light refreshments as part of their visit to a preview or for a valuation.
A free, confidential and no-obligation valuation service will continue to be offered, with specialists covering all the main areas of art, furniture and antiques, including modern prints and multiples, silver, Islamic and Indian Art, Asian Art, Old Master Paintings, Modern and Post-War British Art, 19th and 20th Century paintings, wine, cameras, prints, books, and autographs and memorabilia.
In addition, the auction houses will host a number of evening events in the Barley Mow headquarters, catering for new and existing buyers and collectors who are interesting in engaging further with our specialists.
Leigh Osborne says: “we hope that our new space will provide an opportunity for Chiswick Auctions to become even more connected to the local Chiswick area, through fantastic previews and events that showcase our sales and our specialists, and help us become an even more essential part of the cultural map of Chiswick.”
The auction houses’ popular monthly sale of Interiors, Homes and Antiques will be presented in a separate newly dedicated space on Roslin Square, close to the current headquarters.
This monthly sale offers a range of modern, mid-century and antique furniture and furnishings for the home and garden, and always attracts a wide range of buyers.
The site offers free parking for viewing the sale and the collection of won lots.
A full valuation service is also offered at Roslin Square, for clients who require free car parking.
The site will also house Chiswick Auctions sales of fine rugs and carpets and cameras.
Leigh Osborne adds: “Our brand new saleroom space will showcase the fabulous range of objects and works of art to their very best.
"Clients can engage with our specialists, take refreshments, have a valuation, collect won lots or come to an event, all within the iconic setting of one of Chiswick’s most historical buildings.”
The new Barley Mow Passage headquarters will preview Chiswick Auctions 19th and 20th Century Photographs sale from Thursday 12 May to Saturday 21 May, excluding Sundays.
Head of Sale Austin Farahar commented: “It is our strongest photography sale to date.
"It’s a who’s who of seminal photographic masterpieces, and we have works encompassing every aspect of photography, its most celebrated movements and the processes which facilitated these.
As you look around this beautifully bright exhibition space, the logical, or chronological place to begin on a whistle-stop tour of the sale would be with our cased images, early European salt prints, and pioneer female photographers of the 19th century.
A sale of this nature would not be complete without the British father of Photography, Fox Talbot’s photography being represented. We have one of his early Sun Pictures.
But to really build the picture of this strata of the British scientific society, we have works by Nevil Story Maskelyne, William Craven, John Dillwyn Llewynn and, as we cross the British channel and head into France and the forests of Fontainebleau, where impressionists and early practitioners experimented together, we have two exquisite and very rare works by Aldabert & Eugene Cuvelier.
These two were initially offered at Sotheby’s in 2007 and it is an honour to be re-offering for public auction in 2022.
The influences of Impressionism can be seen so clearly in the works, and the condition of both prints is truly something to behold.
Thankfully, not too far behind are the pioneering women of 19th Century Photography.
Prolific Photographers such as Augusta Mostyn, and Caroline Neville worked in the east of England and produced fantastic bodies of work, most of which today is held institutionally worldwide.
The most celebrated and widely known of these women has to of course be Julia Margaret Cameron.
A late adopter, some may say to the art, Cameron’s photographic style was distinct, emotive and truly captivating.
Her mastery and understanding of portraiture in, for the times, a massively unconventional manner is perhaps the photographic success story of the 19th Century.
Following on from the strong results we have realised in the past years with her work, we have been entrusted to offer for sale four works that appear to have been extracted from one of only 12 known albums that she compiled during her photographic tenure.
Many 20th Century giants are also showcased, including Man Ray, Henri Cartier Bresson, August Sander, Bill Brandt, Terry O’Neill, Bert Hardy, and well as Eve Arnold, Linda McCartney, Fay Godwin and June Newton.
Early 20th century photographers are also showcased, including Edward Steichen, Jacques Henri Lartigue, Andre Kertesz and Horst P Horst.
Iconic images include the Beatles Abbey Road album cover and shots of Brigitte Bardot, Paul Newman, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and The Doors.
Cartier-Bresson’s Sunday on the banks of the River Seine is an incredibly famous work which we are proud to have in the sale.”
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