You pair of hawkers
Furious Earl accuses interior design pair who inherited most of £33m family fortune of flogging his history in £2m auction
WHEN Gloria Wesley, the Dowager Countess Bathurst, left most of her £33million fortune to a pair of interior decorators, it caused a major shock.
Now, the two men are selling many of her family’s precious heirlooms.
Grant White, an interior designer based in Fulham, and New Yorker Geoffrey Bradfield have put the artefacts up for auction at Christie’s in London. They are expected to fetch more than £2million.
Last night, her stepson Earl Bathurst, 59, branded the dowager countess ‘callous’ and told of his fury that his family history would be sold off.
‘This is a terrible tragedy and incredibly sad for my family to see long-term possessions of historical importance being hawked for sale to the highest bidder,’ he told the Mail.
Referring to the former American model – who was married to his father, the 8th Earl, for 33 years until his death in 2011 – he said: ‘This callous woman came into the family and we welcomed her. My father entrusted her with these precious possessions with his clear understanding and belief they would be returned to the family on her death.
‘Gloria has broken his trust, and there are now chattels of national and historical significance from within a family collection, dating back over 11 generations, being dispersed. These items... could have been held on display for the enjoyment of the nation and in the place that they belong. Instead they will be split apart, hanging on the walls of strangers as “interior decor”.
‘There are items which we would love to have back in Cirencester [Park, the family’s Gloucestershire stately pile] but I suspect that that will never be.’ The lots include portraits of his ancestors, the Apsleys, dating back to the 17th century, his great-grandmother’s tiara, gifts from Queen Anne and paintings by Philip de Laszlo of his grandparents and great-grandparents.
Before the dowager countess’s death aged 90 in 2018, she and the earl were locked in a bitter court battle after Gloria demanded to enter Cirencester Park – where Princes William and Harry have often played polo – to make an inventory.
The Christie’s sale includes treasures from Lady Bathurst’s first marriage, to the wealthy widower David Rutherston.
This has disgusted his son, art dealer Max Ruthertson, who told the Mail: ‘Gloria was a malicious woman. This sale reflects very badly on her and also on her beneficiaries. The lots should have been offered first to the families.’ Mr White and Mr Bradfield could not be reached for comment.
recently took part in her inaugural official engagement using a video-conferencing call, and now her daughter-in-law is to notch up her own royal technological first.
I can reveal that the Countess of Wessex will sit for sculptress Frances Segelman while being watched live by a worldwide audience online.
Prince Edward’s wife, Sophie, is patron of the Vision Foundation and the work will be unveiled in 2021, the charity’s centenary. ‘It is a privilege,’ Frances tells me. ‘It will be the first time a member of the Royal Family has sat for me as part of a live virtual event, and the first royal sculpture I have created as a tactile piece of art for blind and partially sighted people.’
The wife of philanthropist Sir Jack Petchey adds: ‘Through the wonders of technology, it’s great to give people the insider’s view of how I sculpt.’