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Hansons: An Éminence Grise of the Arts: The Collection of Véra Russell (1911-1992)

Auction Reports

Auction Name An Éminence Grise of the Arts: The Collection of Véra Russell (1911-1992) Total Sales (GBP) 352,973.58
Auction Date April 01, 2026 - April 01, 2026 Low Estimate of Lots Sold (GBP) 144,160.00
Sale Number #40126 High Estimate of Lots Sold (GBP) 221,620.00
Total Lots 196
Sold Lots 161.0 Low Estimate of All Lots (GBP) 163,280.00
% of Lots Sold 82.14% High Estimate of All Lots (GBP) 251,040.00
Unsold Lots 35 Total Sales as a % of High Est. 140.61%

Top twenty-five by sale price

Top Sale Price Lots
Lot Number Author Name Book Title Year Published Estimate Actual Price
38 Matthew Smith (British, 1879-1959)

Vera Lindsay [Russell], Femme en Negligee

[1954-55] GBP 20,000.00 - 30,000.00 GBP 32,950.00
2 David Hockney (English, b. 1937)

Vera Russell, three-quarter length seated portrait

[1978] GBP 15,000.00 - 20,000.00 GBP 31,632.00
26 Maggi Hambling (British, b. 1945)

John Pope-Hennessy [British art historian]

[1972] GBP 10,000.00 - 15,000.00 GBP 22,406.00
3 David Hockney (English, b. 1937)

Paper Pools

[1979] GBP 7,000.00 - 10,000.00 GBP 19,111.00
28 [JASPER JOHNS (B. 1930) & SAMUEL BECKETT (1906-1989)

FIZZLES/FOIRADES: AUTOGRAPH LETTERS SIGNED, PREPARATORY MATERIAL & FINISHED PUBLICATION]

1976 GBP 15,000.00 - 20,000.00 GBP 17,134.00
195 Kim Lim (Singaporean-British, 1936-1997)

Untitled, stone carving, dedicated at base "For V" [Vera Russell]

N/A GBP 300.00 - 500.00 GBP 15,157.00
4 David Hockney (English, b. 1937)

Homage to Michelangelo

[1975] GBP 5,000.00 - 8,000.00 GBP 14,498.00
151

[BLOOMSBURY GROUP]. An original "Round Robin" Typed Letter Signed to shareholders and patrons of the Omega Workshops...

N/A GBP 300.00 - 400.00 GBP 13,180.00
187 Louise Nevelson (American, 1899-1988)

Cryptic XLI, wooden box with gallery label at base

1966 GBP 2,000.00 - 5,000.00 GBP 9,885.00
6 David Hockney (English, b. 1937)

Igor Stravinsky - Metropolitan Opera

1981 GBP 2,000.00 - 3,000.00 GBP 8,567.00
147 DAHL, (Roald)

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

1964 GBP 1,500.00 - 2,500.00 GBP 7,249.00
15 David Hockney (English, b. 1937)

Autograph Letter Signed

1979-09-08 GBP 500.00 - 800.00 GBP 5,535.60
1

[AUTOGRAPHS -THE ARTS]. Vera & John Russell's visitor book, 1962-67

1962-67 GBP 5,000.00 - 8,000.00 GBP 5,272.00
80 Jay DeFeo (American, 1929-1989)

[An original section of "The Rose"]

1960-12-18 GBP 1,000.00 - 2,000.00 GBP 5,272.00
19 David Hockney (English, b. 1937)

Autograph Letter Signed

undated [September 1980] GBP 400.00 - 500.00 GBP 4,481.20
29 [HENRY MOORE (1898-1986) & W. H. AUDEN (1907-1973)

AUTOGRAPH LETTERS SIGNED, PREPARATORY MATERIAL & FINISHED PUBLICATION]

[1974] GBP 3,000.00 - 5,000.00 GBP 4,481.20
58 Robert Medley (English, 1905-1994)

Design for Eliot Memorial Concert

1964 GBP 500.00 - 800.00 GBP 4,217.60
136 Arthur Szyk (Polish-American, 1894-1951)

The original design for the Ex Libris of noted journalist Vladimir Poliakoff (1864-1956)

1933 GBP 700.00 - 1,000.00 GBP 4,217.60
71 Max Ernst (German, 1891-1976)

Untitled 1962, signed by both Max Ernst & Dorothea Tanning (American, 1910-2012)

[1962] GBP 3,000.00 - 4,000.00 GBP 3,954.00
52 Mary Potter (English, 1900-1981)

Trees, signed on stretcher verso

N/A GBP 2,000.00 - 3,000.00 GBP 3,558.60
65 Princess Margaret (1930-2002)

An archive of Autograph Letters Signed to John and Vera Russell...

N/A GBP 1,000.00 - 2,000.00 GBP 3,558.60
8 David Hockney (English, b. 1937)

Untitled interior with fireplace, digital art [Apple Macintosh]

[c. 1990-91] GBP 1,000.00 - 1,500.00 GBP 3,426.80
156 Sir Gerald Barry (1898-1968), British newspaper editor and organiser of the Festival of Britain 1951, second husband of Vera Russell (1911-1992)

[FESTIVAL OF BRITAIN 1951]. An archive of plans, notes, correspondence, and ephemera relating to the festival...

N/A GBP 500.00 - 800.00 GBP 3,426.80
68 Marc Chagall (1887-1985)

L'Ecuyere [The Woman Circus Rider]

[1956] GBP 1,000.00 - 1,500.00 GBP 3,295.00
21 David Hockney (English, b. 1937)

Autograph Letter Signed

1980-10-18 GBP 400.00 - 500.00 GBP 3,163.20
  • Forum Auctions
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    28th May 2026
    Forum, May 28: Book of Hours.- Heures de nostre dame a l'usaige de Romme, Paris, Antoine Chappiel pour Germain Hardouin, [1504]. £6,000-8,000
    Forum, May 28: Colonna (Francesco). La Hypnerotomachia di Poliphilo, second edition, Venice, Sons of Aldus Manutius, 1545. £15,000-20,000
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    Forum, May 28: Jackson (Shirley). The Haunting of Hill House, first English edition, signed presentation inscription from the author to Claude Fredericks, 1960. £2,000-3,000
    Forum, May 28: Lennon (John). In His Own Write, first edition, first impression, signed by the author, 1964. £3,000-4,000
    Forum, May 28: Doves Press.- Keats (John). [Poems], one of 200 copies on paper, Doves Press, 1914. £5,000-7,000
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    Forum, May 28: Rodrigues (João Barbosa). Sertum Palmarum Brasiliensium, 2 vol., first and only edition, Brussels, 1903. £8,000-12,000
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    Forum, May 28: Tagliacozzi (Gaspare). De Curtorum Chirurgia per insitionem, libri duo, first edition, Venice, Gasparo Bindoni, 1597. £7,000-10,000
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