Pictures from the collection of art dealer Sir Jack Baer sold for £81,000 at Sworders inaugural auction of Old Masters, British and European Art.
30 September 2022
The core of the September 27 sale was provided by items from 9 Phillimore Terrace, the Kensington house where Jack and Diana Baer lived for more than 50 years. As befitting the home of one of the most successful and well-regarded picture dealers of his generation (Jack Baer was the man who built Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox into a world-class concern), art was at the centre of the home. Hundreds of paintings, drawings and prints were hung throughout the house. Nineteenth century French drawings and oils, always a strength of the Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox gallery, were a favourite but so too were colourful works from the Modern British canon.
Théodore Rousseau (French, 1812-1867),Paysage, oil on paper laid on board,10.8 x 33cm
The 22 lots offered in September were topped at £19,000, an oil sketch by Théodore Rousseau (1812-67). Painted on paper and then laid down on board, this 11 x 33cm scene titled simply 'Paysage' had formed part of a 1956 Hazlitt gallery exhibition of Barbizon School art and was later included in Michael Schulman’s 1999 catalogue raisonné of Rousseau’s work.
Léopold Leprince (French, 1800-1847),'Roof Tops',indistinctly titled, signed and dated 'Leopold Leprince 1815' verso, oil on board,12.3 x 31cm
Sold at £17,000 to the same London collector was Roof Tops, an equally atmospheric 12 x 31cm oil on board sketch of the French countryside as viewed from the roofline by Robert-Léopold Leprince (1800-47). It was indistinctly titled, signed and dated 1819 placing it early in the artist’s career. At the time he was being taught by his father, Anne-Pierre and his brother Auguste-Xavier. Leprince was part of the second wave of French artists who came to paint nature in the Forest of Fontainebleau, some 35 miles southeast of Paris. He settled in the artists’ colony at Chailly.
Following the success of this week's sale, we look forward to offering more pictures from the Baer collection in our Modern and Contemporary Art sale on 4 October.
Ahead of our inaugural sale, The 13th Note, Head of Department Tony Salani reflects on one of music's greatest rivalries. As The Beatles and The Rolling Stones go head-to-head through a remarkable selection of memorabilia, he reveals which side ultimately wins his vote in this friendly Battle of the Bands.
12 June 2026
This summer, Sworders will offer an exceptional set of eight ‘Klismos’ Classical Greek No. 3 chairs, designed by Terence Harold Robsjohn-Gibbings and manufactured by Saridis of Athens. Presented in the 14 July Design auction in two lots of four, the chairs represent one of the 20th century’s most refined reinterpretations of the ancient world.
11 June 2026
Situated in the heart of South Kensington, 18 Thurloe Square forms part of one of London's most distinguished nineteenth-century garden residences, and we are delighted to offer items from this collection in our forthcoming Fine Interiors sale.
8 June 2026