Christies picture sale catalogue, 1943

Sale catalogue of 'Pictures by Old Masters' by Christie, Manson and Woods on December 10th 1943; lots 38 to 55 being the property of Vernon St.John, 6th Viscount Bolingbroke (1886-1974).

Lord Bolingbroke had left Lydiard Park following the death of his mother in 1940. Money was tight and selling family portraits and paintings was one way of raising much needed income.

As this catalogue shows, Lord Bolingbroke chose to try and sell a portion of his family's ancestral collection of pictures; selecting those which might command the highest price and be of most interest to collectors. Four paintings by the equestrian painter George Stubbs fetched the highest prices, though nothing compared to their value today. Two, 'The Gimcrack Stakes', and 'Turf with Jockey Up', are illustrated in the catalogue.

This copy belonged to Lord Bolingbroke and contains notes as to what the pictures sold for and which failed to sell. It was generously gifted to The Friends of Lydiard Park by a private donor in 2023.