20th Century Design In 2020
Decorative Arts and Design specialist, John Black, introduces us to the forthcoming 20th Century Design Sale and to some exciting additions to the sale calendar next year.
The next 20th Century Design Sale at Sworders includes furniture from the London home and the Hampshire retreat of MJ Long (1939-2018), wife of Colin St John Wilson (1922-2007), both architects whose magnum opus was the British Library in London.
The collection gives a tantalising glimpse into their friendship with artists such as Eduardo Paolozzi, whose giant bronze sits in the courtyard, and RB Kitaj, whose massive tapestry based on his painting ‘If Not, Not’ hangs in the entrance hall of the Library.
Among bentwood furniture and designer pieces removed from the London home (built for the sculptor Sir William Reidt Dick), and a Canadian canoe from her home in Bosham, are a pair of Beehive pendant lamps designed by Alvar Aalto, one of their major influences.
The sale includes three distinct sections of Arts and Crafts, Art Deco and Mid Century furniture and design and also pieces from the collection of Tom Munro, a London-based fashion photographer who has worked on many of the leading advertising campaigns for major fashion houses.
Consignments for the sale are welcomed until Friday 13 December.
With the popularity of Mid-Century Design still riding high, we are excited to announce that for 2020 we have decided to grow the breadth of sales in this arena.
Alongside the two solidly established sales of 20th Century Design, our sales calendar will include three additional modern interest auctions: Mid-Century and Modern Design; Arts and Crafts; The Swinging Sixties.
We’re looking forward to helping our clients with these sales and to introducing them to prospective buyers in 2020.
Contact John Black for more information
johnblack@sworder.co.uk | 01279 817778
20th Century Design in 2020
Tuesday 28 January
20TH CENTURY DESIGN
Entries close 13 DecemberWednesday 27 May
MID CENTURY AND MODERN DESIGN
Entries close 3 AprilTuesday 21 July
ARTS AND CRAFTS
Entries close 5 JuneTuesday 13 October
20TH CENTURY DESIGN
Entries close 28 AugustTuesday 10 November
THE SWINGING SIXTIES
Entries close 25 September
Recent News
John Ruskin | A Remarkable Archive Comes to Auction at Sworders
A major highlight of our forthcoming 'DREAMS | A Unique Private Collection' sale on 9 July is a remarkable archive of letters and manuscripts by John Ruskin (1819–1900), the celebrated Victorian polymath. This unparalleled group – numbering in the hundreds – is believed to be the largest collection of Ruskin correspondence in private hands and spans a vast range of topics from art and architecture to politics, religion, and personal reflection.
2 July 2025
Valuation Day Discovery
'The Scented Garden of Abdullah the Satirist of Shiraz' - also known as 'The Bagh-i-Muattar' - quickly caught the attention of our book specialists, when a copy bound in full vellum was brought in by a local client to our weekly valuation day.
2 July 2025
The Glass Sale | A Medium of Light, Form and Infinite Expression
We are thrilled to launch The Glass Sale - a brand-new addition to our auction calendar! The inaugural sale will take place on Tuesday 28 October and will become a biannual fixture in our calendar going forward.
20 June 2025