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Colin Smith of Hampstead Art Auctions with the portrait of Humphrey Lyttelton |
Top brass... ‘Humph’ possessions go under hammer
IT could be a must-have present for jazz fans this Christmas: personal possessions from the home of legendary trumpeter Humphrey Lyttelton are going under the hammer at an auction tonight (Thursday).
The sale, hosted by Colin Smith of Hampstead Art Auctions, includes three paintings owned by Mr Lyttelton. Among them is one of the musician himself by well-known portrait artist John Bratby.
Mr Bratby, who died in 1992, approached Humph, as he was affectionately called, in the 1970s.
Although the painting graced the hallway of Mr Lyttelton’s Hampstead home for many years, his son Stephen believes he bought it because he didn’t particularly like it. And, therefore, in a characteristically Humph-like move, felt he should at least own it so others didn’t have to.
Whatever the merits of its aesthetics, the fact Mr Bratby’s paintings can fetch around £20,000, the fact its subject is an icon, and the fact he also once owned it, means the reserve price of £300 looks a steal.
Stephen, whose father was the lovable host of I’m Sorry, I Haven’t Clue, said: “The painting was one of a series of people in the arts world, although I have to say it wasn’t his favourite. He went to the sittings with some trepidation.”
Other lots are heirlooms which Humph, who would each year do a charity concert in aid of the Royal Free hospital, inherited himself.
A pair of paintings by Victorian portrait artist Sir Edward Coley Burne Jones were given to the trumpeter by his great aunt, while the origins of a Victorian drinks box – complete with dainty sherry glasses and decanters – are more mysterious. Stephen believes they may have been handed down from his mother’s side.
He revealed that his father loved trawling through the now-defunct art market that used to be held at Whitestone Pond on Sunday mornings.
“He used to like supporting artists and he loved work by an Argentine painter called Juan Steckelman,” said Stephen. “He had five of his paintings and thought they were quirky.”
But there is one heirloom Stephen has yet to decide what to do with – and which would no doubt command a gigantic fee. “I still have some of his instruments and I have kept his record collection,” he said. “We are wondering where we can find a good home for them.”
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