Glam as per Gloria
John Vincent reports on the treasure trove of art and antiques that belonged
to the fashion model known as Britain’s ‘most perfect outdoor girl’.
She was the epitome of style and glamour in the post-war years, her elegance and beauty earning modelling assignments for top Parisian fashion designers Jacques Fath and Christian Dior, as well as appearances in Vogue magazine. She chose her husbands well, too, becoming one of the wealthiest women in Britain, although her later life was soured by a bitter feud with her aristocratic stepson.
Gloria Wesley Clarry – the lady in the stunning ballgown and expensive pearl necklace – was born in New York in 1927 and came to England with her family as a child. In 1965, following her career as a leading model, she married David Rutherston, of the talented, wealthy and artistic Rothenstein family, JewishGerman immigrants who first settled in Bradford in the 1860s. She acquired a stunning array of artworks after her first husband’s death in 1975, aged 49.
Gloria’s second husband, in 1978, was Henry Allen John Bathurst, 8th Earl Bathurst, and she became Dowager Countess of Bathurst, moving to his family seat, Cirencester Park in Gloucestershire. Ten years later the couple moved to their last home, Manor Farm, Sapperton, on the edge of the vast estate.
Earl Bathurst died in 2011 and the Dowager Countess remained at Manor Farm, with regular visits to her flat in Chelsea. It is from these two properties that an impressive collection of art and heirlooms – estimated to fetch about £2m – is offered at four Christie’s auctions taking place in London, with one sale on Wednesday spanning Old Master, Impressionist and Modern British paintings, furniture, works of art, jewellery, silver, porcelain and decorative furnishings.
The collection of Lady Bathurst – once dubbed Britain’s “most perfect outdoor girl” – includes an embroidered “bizarre” bed cover gift thought to have been given to Frances, Lady Bathurst (1653-1727) by Queen Anne, and such fabulous jewels as a diamond tiara commissioned from Cartier that belonged to Lilias, Countess Bathurst (1871-1965).
Also on offer are artworks Lady Bathurst inherited from her first husband, David Rutherston, including portraits by his Bradford-born father Albert and uncle Sir William, influential figures in the 20th century Modern Art scene.
Christie’s head of sale, Adrian HumeSayer, says: “Some objects have been in the family collection for more than 300 years and have never been offered for sale in their entire history. It’s fascinating to unravel the layered and interconnected stories which link to important people and events, not only in the history of the Bathurst family but in British history, from courtiers attending Queen Anne to the Napoleonic wars.”
There was no love lost between Lady Bathurst and her stepson Allen, now the 9th Earl, and they had disagreements over everything from parking to polo. After her death, aged 90, in 2018, it was revealed that she had cut him out of her will. Instead, she left most of her riches to two interior designer friends. This followed a court battle, ostensibly about access to parts of the 15,000-acre Bathurst estate after his death in
2011, which she lost.