ID 794450
Lot 76 | TENNANT, Stephen (1906-1987)
Valeur estimée
£ 6 000 – 9 000
41 letters to Ruth and Zachary Ford, 1958-1962.
41 autograph letters signed (‘Stephen’ or ‘S’) to Ruth and Zachary Ford, Wilsford Manor, 17 March 1958 – April 1962 and n.d. 108 pages in total, various sizes, two of the letters on notecards, one enclosing a page of autograph poetry, one enclosing a photograph, six of the letters illustrated with sketches. 39 original envelopes.
Letters from Stephen Tennant, brightest of the Bright Young Things – named ‘the last professional beauty’ by Osbert Sitwell – to the American actors Ruth and Zachary Ford. Spanning a four-year period – written in jewel-coloured inks in a languid scrawl, some illustrated with lively sketches – Tennant’s letters are all sent from Wilsford Manor, the childhood home to which he retreated for good in the late 1940s: the printed notepaper with an address on New York’s Upper East Side on which many of the letters are written seems to be an intentional red herring, showing a characteristic – rather fabulous – disdain for reality. More than half of Tennant’s letters discuss his plays, poetry or paintings: he makes repeated reference – in letters that are often sent on consecutive days, occasionally the very same day – to works recently completed or putative new commissions, especially those in which he envisages Ruth and Zachary starring, and requests that both might read his plays; in one instance, he encloses a page of autograph poetry, while elsewhere he lists his works completed to date. Tennant professes his love for New York, sending a series of missives rhapsodising on the snowfall in the city, and writes at length about his desire to return to America: to lecture on his old friend Willa Cather, to sell his paintings, or to present his plays to an understanding audience (‘America is more receptive & welcoming to new thought than any other country now’). Playful and expansive in tone, he curates extravagant, adventurous travel itineraries for trips he imagines making, perhaps with Ruth and Zachary in tow: to the south of France, to Samoa, to the Mojave Desert, Taormina or Tangiers. Occasionally, the façade slips: 'I think I can write dialogue Zachary […] but I am shy & reclusive, like my beloved Emily Dickinson […] I've had a bad breakdown – 3⁄4 months – but I'm quite alright now’. Elsewhere, references to past glories and acquaintances add a touch of pathos: he reports that ‘Laurence Whistler has asked for my Rex Whistler letters for his book on R’, for example, but such statements as ‘you will say I'm old fashioned – but old fashioned things come back into fashion’ or ‘I am a beautiful dancer’ might just as easily be read as wry in-jokes designed to amuse the letters’ recipients.
After the Second World War, Stephen Tennant retreated for good to Wilsford Manor, the Arts and Crafts mansion at which he had hosted glittering parties for fellow socialites, friends and lovers including Cecil Beaton, Rex Whistler, Osbert Sitwell and Siegfried Sassoon in the Twenties and Thirties. He lay in bed for much of the time, writing letters, emerging in the evenings – latterly, with long, hennaed hair and grossly overweight, but beautifully dressed – to hold court to guests from David Hockney to Kenneth Anger.
[offered with:] three catalogues for exhibitions of Stephen Tennants works: 'Paintings and Fantasies', Rome, 1956 (two copies; one inscribed by Tennant for the Fords); and 'Paintings and Drawings of Hawaii and Mexico', London, 1956.
Special notice
This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.
| Lieu d'origine: | Europe du Nord, Europe, Royaume-Uni |
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| Catégorie maison de vente aux enchères: | Lettres, documents et manuscrits |
| Lieu d'origine: | Europe du Nord, Europe, Royaume-Uni |
|---|---|
| Catégorie maison de vente aux enchères: | Lettres, documents et manuscrits |
| Adresse de l'enchère |
CHRISTIE'S 8 King Street, St. James's SW1Y 6QT London Royaume-Uni | |
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| Aperçu |
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| Téléphone | +44 (0)20 7839 9060 | |
| Commission | see on Website | |
| Conditions d'utilisation | Conditions d'utilisation |
Termes connexes
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| Numéro de lot | 76 |
|---|---|
| Maison de vente aux enchères | CHRISTIE'S |
| Date de l'enchère | 13.07.2022 |
Votre ordre: £ 6 000
Téléphones pour la communication:
+34827387, +232346832
C'est votre offre maximale qui est transmise à la maison des ventes aux enchères. Si l'offre maximale est plus en haut que le prix limite de l'article, le commissaire-priseur offrira pour vous jusqu'à la hauteur de l'offre maximale.
C'est votre enchère maximale, qui est transmise à la maison de vente aux enchères. Si l'enchère maximale est plus haut que le prix minimal de l'article, le commissaire-priseur offrira pour vous jusqu'à la hauteur de l'enchère maximale.
| Numéro de lot | 76 |
|---|---|
| Maison de vente aux enchères | CHRISTIE'S |
| Date de l'enchère | 13.07.2022 |
Erreur ordre
| Numéro de lot | 76 |
|---|---|
| Maison de vente aux enchères | CHRISTIE'S |
| Date de l'enchère | 13.07.2022 |
Вы уже сделали ставку в € 40 000 и ставка принята аукционным домом. Если вы хотите ее уменьшить, то обратитесь напрямую в администрацию аукционного дома.
Erreur ordre
| Numéro de lot | 76 |
|---|---|
| Maison de vente aux enchères | CHRISTIE'S |
| Date de l'enchère | 13.07.2022 |
Вы не можете делать ставки в данном АД, т.к. были внесены в черный список.
Déposer un ordre
| Numéro de lot | 76 |
|---|---|
| Maison de vente aux enchères | CHRISTIE'S |
| Date de l'enchère | 13.07.2022 |
Autobid est prêt
| Numéro de lot | 76 |
|---|---|
| Maison de vente aux enchères | CHRISTIE'S |
| Date de l'enchère | 13.07.2022 |
