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PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF WILLIAM KELLY SIMPSONAcross an illustrious career in Egyptology, William Kelly Simpson sought to bridge the divide between the ancient and modern worlds. Unwavering in his dedication to illuminating the past, Professor Simpson stood as one of the field’s foremost scholars - a celebrated figure in both Egypt and the United States. “In our generation,” noted curator Rita E. Reed of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, “few Egyptologists have achieved the international acclaim and earned the universal respect … enjoyed by William Kelly Simpson.” As a collector, Professor Simpson recognized the tremendous power of artistic production, and the ways in which creativity - from ancient times to the present day - could magnify one’s experience of the world. Whether in his academic career or in his exceptional collection of fine and decorative art, William Kelly Simpson was a man wholeheartedly devoted to art and intellect. Professor Simpson graduated from Yale College in 1947 and received his Master’s degree there in 1948. That same year, curators W.C. Hayes and Ambrose Lansing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art hired Simpson as the Curatorial Assistant in the Egyptian Department. Professor Simpson subsequently published his first article in the Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, marking the beginning of an extraordinary scholarly output of more than 130 articles and 20 books. In 1954, following his years at the Met, Professor Simpson completed his dissertation at Yale on the excavation of the pyramid of Amenemhat I and was appointed Assistant Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Literature in 1958. During his 46 years in academia, he rose to Associate Professor, Professor, and Chair of Yale’s Department of Near Eastern Languages and Literature and helped to position Yale as one of the foremost centres for Egyptology. Among his many archaeological projects in Egypt were the famed Pennsylvania-Yale Expeditions that recorded New Kingdom tombs and Meroitic cemeteries; the 1960s UNESCO campaign to rescue Nubian monuments threatened by the construction of the Aswan Dam; and excavations at the Giza Pyramids and sites in Nubia. Professor Simpson’s name became synonymous with preservation and the protection of the past - ideals which he carried with him into his collecting. Despite a professional focus on Egyptology, Professor Simpson’s highly trained eye carried him into a realm of cross-category collecting, including stand-out works by 20th Century British artists such as Lynn Chadwick, Wyndham Lewis and Glyn Warren Philpot. In almost all instances, a direct lineage between old and new, contemporary and classical can be identified - a testament not only to Professor Simpson’s connoisseurship but also to his abiding excitement for and love of the Arts.

John Craxton, R.A. (1922-2009)

Don Bachardy

Details

John Craxton, R.A. (1922-2009)
Don Bachardy
signed '-Craxton-' (lower right), with inscription 'Don Bachardy' (upper left) and inscribed 'Don Bachardy' (on the backboard)
charcoal and red and white chalk on card
17¼ x 12¼ in. (43.9 x 31 cm.)
Executed in 1960.
This work is presented in the artist's painted frame.

Provenance

Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 30 September 1998, lot 151, where purchased by the present owner.

Literature

D. Attenborough (intro.), exhibition catalogue, John Craxton: An Exhibition of Portraits 1942-1992 including Recent Work 1987-1993, London, Christopher Hull Gallery, 1993, n.p., no. 11, illustrated.

Exhibited

London, Christopher Hull Gallery, John Craxton: An Exhibition of Portraits 1942-1992 including Recent Work 1987-1993, October 1993, no. 11.

Special notice

Artist's Resale Right ("Droit de Suite"). Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006 apply to this lot, the buyer agrees to pay us an amount equal to the resale royalty provided for in those Regulations, and we undertake to the buyer to pay such amount to the artist's collection agent. These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

Brought to you by

Pippa Jacomb

pjacomb@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2293

Lot Essay

We are very grateful to Ian Collins for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.

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