Castle Howard treasures go under hammer
It was described by the great art historian Horace Walpole as “sublime” and became known as one of Britain’s greatest and most beautiful stately homes.
But the last few months have been among the most tumultuous in Castle Howard’s centuries-old history.
In an expected move, the day-to-day running of the home transferred from Simon Howard, who had been at the helm for 30 years, to his elder brother, Nicholas, in November.
While the reasons for the change in leadership were not made clear at the time, it was suggested that Simon had been urged to step down or face being outvoted by the directors of the company that runs the estate.
Now the family behind the North Yorkshire property, made famous as the setting for television drama Brideshead Revisited, are hoping to look to the future by selling off some of its magnificent collection of fine art and antiquities to raise up to £10m to finance the upkeep of the property.
The auction at Sotheby’s London this July will reflect both the history of the house and the tastes of the men who built and shaped its collections. The works span a range of periods and media, from Roman antiquities to Old Master paintings and 17th century Italian furniture.
Among the items on sale will be no fewer than 15 works by Italian artist Bernardo Bellotto commissioned or bought by the fourth Earl of Carlisle, Henry Howard, on his second grand tour of Europe in the 18th century. The collection of landscapes was painted by Bellotto when he was just 16 years old, while working in the studio of his uncle, Canaletto. These alone have a guide price of between £2.5m and £3.5m.
Ferdinand Bol’s Portrait of Boy, bought by Frederick, the fifth Earl of Carlisle, in 1801, is estimated at about £2m to £3m.
A pair of rare Italian cabinets are expected to fetch up to £1m, while a striking portrait of Henry VIII from the studio of Hans Holbein and dated 1542, is estimated at £1.2m. The King’s fifth wife, Catherine Howard, was an ancestor of the Earls of Carlisle.
While the lots are numerous, they represent just a fraction of the Castle Howard collection and have been offered for sale on behalf of the Trustees of Castle Howard.
Nicholas Howard said: “We have selected for sale at Sotheby’s a small number of works which, while of great intrinsic interest, have been carefully chosen so as not to detract from the overall integrity of the collection.”
Simon Howard added: “Running Castle Howard for the last 30 years has been an immense privilege. Now, as a new chapter in its history opens, the sales that we are planning at Sotheby’s will make an important contribution to the long term future of the estate and collections.”
The sales will take place at Sotheby’s London on July 8.
The chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, Henry Wyndham, said: “The collections at Castle Howard chart two millennia of history and 300 years of collecting, and rank among the finest private art collections in the world.”