Leslie Waddington’s art to be auctioned

The personal art collection of the Dublin-born London art dealer, the late Leslie Waddington, is to be auctioned by Christie's this autumn.

Leslie Waddington was born in 1934 into a Jewish family in Dublin, where his father Victor ran an art gallery in South Anne Street which sold the work of leading Irish artists, including Jack B Yeats. Many Yeats paintings were sold by Victor Waddington in 1940s and 1950s Dublin. For example, in October 1951, during an exhibition of 21 new paintings by the artist – 16 sold within 24 hours, for an average price of £624.

Leslie attended the Portora Royal School in Enniskillen and in the early 1950s, he went to Paris where he studied history of art and archaeology at the Sorbonne and the École du Louvre.

In 1957, the family moved to London and opened a new art gallery in Cork Street. In 1966, Leslie Waddington, having worked in his father’s business, opened his own Waddington Galleries and became one of London’s best known art dealers.

He died last year, aged 81, having sold his gallery to a French art dealer.

Jussi Pylkkänen, Global President of Christie’s, said Leslie Waddington was “the art dealer who pioneered contemporary art in London, long before the proliferation of galleries and art institutions in the city”.

The Daily Telegraph’s obituary noted he was “highly respected for his scrupulous research [every Waddington sale was accompanied by a complete condition report and a newly-traced provenance], and for his squeaky-clean business practices” and had “developed close relationships with leading collectors” including Alistair (later Lord) McAlpine.

He reputedly turned down honours twice (the offer of an OBE in 1986 from Mrs Thatcher’s government and a CBE in 1999 from Tony Blair’s.

His favourite artists included the French 20th century painter and sculptor Jean Dubuffet. The Telegraph said: "In 1995 Waddington's sharp eye helped to crack one of the most ingenious art frauds of all time when he spotted that some Dubuffet paintings that had come up for auction were fakes. His call to the art and antiques squad at Scotland Yard led to the downfall of John Drewe, the criminal mastermind behind the scam, and his partner in crime John Myatt, the artist who created forged paintings for him. The case left egg on the faces of several major auction houses and galleries which had been fooled by the provenances Drewe had created."

Christie’s will sell the Leslie Waddington collection in sales in London in October and November. “Assembled over several decades, Waddington’s personal collection is testament to his pioneering spirit as an art dealer who presented a ground-breaking exhibition programme and fostered creative relationships with artists: he brought a range of modern, post-War, and contemporary names to the attention of international audiences and defined the London art landscape long before the rise in popularity of the contemporary art world today,” the auction house said.

Among the highlights is a painting by Jean Dubuffet Visiteur au Chapeau Bleu Avril 1955, estimated at £2million-£3 million.

In its obituary, the Guardian noted that "Waddington held little nostalgia for Ireland, however. He once recalled his Jewish family milieu as 'endless card games, cheap cigars and bad jokes', yet he revered the Irish literary tradition". and that for his 60th birthday his wife commissioned a cake from Jane Asher, "a trompe-l'oeil stack of Waddington's favourite books, including Joyce's Ulysses, rendered in fondant icing".

Despite Leslie Waddington’s (and his family’s) strong, traditional association with the Irish art market, Christie’s said there was only one Irish painting in the collection going to auction.

The Weir by Jack B Yeats, an oil-on-panel measuring nine inches by 14 inches and dating from 1944 is estimated at £40,000-£60,000.

Christie’s said Leslie Waddington inherited this painting from his father who, presumably, bought it directly from the artist, so it is appearing on the open market for the first time. It will go under the hammer in London on October 4th.