LONDON.- Never before seen specially created one-off works by celebrated designer Oliver Messel (1904-1978), for his only ever country house commission Flaxley Abbey in Gloucestershire, will be offered at auction this autumn. The celebrated theatre and stage designer who moved into interior design by popular demand, began the designing of the interiors at Flaxley Abbey in 1960, using his genius to produce unique pieces befitting of the Abbey’s colourful, historical past. It would take more than 12 years to complete (with further visits until his death in 1978) and many of his own custom-made creations reflecting his costume and set design background, to bring the Abbey back to its full glory.
Initially commissioned to redesign Flaxley Abbey’s morning room and dining room, he went on to design the entire house, as well as the gardens. His works will be offered in a sale titled The Collection Formerly from Flaxley Abbey: An Oliver Messel Commission at
Dreweatts on October 3, 2022.
Among his creations is a model of Flaxley Abbey which demonstrates his exacting eye. The detailed model was built to depict a proposed new Regency-style connecting wing between the main house and the orangery and his design for the orangery and water gardens. The charming model will be offered in the sale and carries an estimate of £600-£800 (lot 4).
Among the bespoke pieces he crafted especially for the house is a pair of giltwood and painted console tables in George III style. The chairs feature a verde antico marble top above a fluted frieze with tapering legs applied with harebells (bell-shaped petals) and elaborate foliate scrolls. The pair carries an estimate of £1,200-£1,800 (lot 84).
A highly decorative carpet in Aubusson style was created by Messel for the morning room. It has a green background and foliate spandrels around a central ivory medallion. Further floral sprays and entwined flowerheads are set against crimson floral borders and yellow and pink trellis work. The style ‘Aubusson’ takes its’ name from a town in France, well known for its tapestry and carpets since the 14th century. Its origins were born with the arrival of weavers from Flanders, who took refuge in Aubusson around 1580. Messel has encapsulated the style perfectly, recreating his own charming version. It carries an estimate of £3,000-£5,000 (lot 45).
A set of eighteen green and cream painted open armchairs in George III style complement the tables and were designed by Messel for the dining room at Flaxley Abbey. They are adorned with foliate carved fluted arms. Six of them are side chairs and they all feature pierced trelliswork and cane filled backs with green squab cushions. The set has an estimate of £3,000-£5,000 (lot 70).
A stunning giltwood chandelier with a central acanthus cast basket supports nine gilt metal branches with suspended faceted lustre drops. The chandelier is identical to one Messel created for the Royal shoemakers Rayne in Bond Street, London when he was commissioned to design their interiors in 1960. It was this commission that led to Messel being appointed to design Flaxley Abbey, as the Abbey’s owners the Wheelers shopped there and admired the new design of the showroom. The chandelier features in archive photographs of the house (which we can supply) and was much-admired. It carries an estimate of £1,500-£2,000 (lot 84).
A selection of pictures in the sale are based on costume designs for characters that Messel created for a range of theatrical productions during his illustrious theatre design career. These include a watercolour and pencil artwork with a painted frame by Messel, for the characters Lydia Languish (lot 139) and Madam Malaprop (lot 136) in Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s comedy of manners, The Rivals at the Criterion Theatre in 1945 (both with an estimate £800-£1,200).
A drop curtain design by Messel depicting a tree and mountains in watercolour and pencil was produced for the 1946 production of Sleeping Beauty by the Royal Ballet. His set designs for this landmark production are considered among Messel’s masterpieces and were revived for the company’s 2006 production. A charming artwork in its own right, the framed painting has an estimate of £500-£700 (lot 140).
Speaking about these works Joe Robinson, Head of Dreweatts House Sales & Collections, said; “Oliver Messel epitomised the sophisticated and the fashionable in mid-20th century theatre. His artistry and vision in theatre design, and later in interior design, had an ability to influence an atmosphere or a narrative as powerfully as any director or actor. This unique sale offers a once in a lifetime opportunity to acquire pieces personally created and owned by this 20th century icon - a tangible piece of design history by the hands of an unmatched creative mind.”
The sale also contains many of Messel’s own historical works from his private collection (some of which were inherited through his own family), and others he sourced from around the world and used in design schemes for his clients, including Flaxley Abbey. (There is a separate press release on these historical works available on request and interiors pictures available of Flaxley Abbey showing Messel’s design scheme, if of interest).
Flaxley Abbey
Historic Flaxley Abbey in Gloucestershire was founded in 1151 as a Cistercian monastery by Roger Fitzmiles, 2nd Earl of Hereford and was the former family seat of the Crawley-Boevey Baronets. It remained a monastery until 1536, when it was given to William Kingston, Constable of the Tower of London, (who oversaw the execution of Anne Boleyn). At this point it was converted into a manor house with an added west and south wing. It then passed through the Crawley-Boevey Baronets who appointed the architect Anthony Keck (1726–1797) to rebuild the house in the 18th century. It remained with them until 1960, when it was purchased by the industrialist Fred Watkins and has remained within the same family to date. It was during this time that the commission for its interiors was given to Oliver Messel.
It was a chance meeting of Oliver Messel and Phyliss Watkins in the Royal shoemakers Rayne in London in the 1960s, that led to a long friendship between them. Messel’s strong connection to the Royals (his nephew, Antony Armstrong-Jones married HRH Princess Margaret), led to many high-profile commissions, such as The Dorchester Hotel and many of the original houses on Mustique, including the redesign of Princess Margaret's home Les Jolies Eaux. Through these connections he was asked to create the interiors of Rayne’s new shop in Bond Street, London in 1960. Phyliss Watkins, now living at Flaxley Abbey, was a customer at Rayne and while admiring a chandelier in the newly designed shop, was introduced to Messel, leading to his commission to redesign the whole of the interiors at Flaxley Abbey. He would also create a chandelier to the same design as the one in Rayne, for Flaxley Abbey (which as detailed above is included in the sale).
The Watkins family chose Messel’s flamboyant design style honed from his theatre design background, to add a richness, warmth and renewed sense of history to the house. He either created pieces especially for the Abbey or sourced them from around the world, or from his own extensive historical collection, courtesy of his family, in order that they would fit perfectly with his overall vision for the house. Flaxley Abbey remains Messel’s only country house project and is one of a dwindling number of Messel interiors still in existence - another reason for this sale being so special.
Oliver Messel ‘s own collection was made up of many works that he inherited from his familial homes: Holmstead Manor, Nymans, 104 Lancaster Gate and Pelham Place in London and he used many of them in his design scheme for Flaxley Abbey. Many of the works have remained at Flaxley Abbey for the last 60 years. This sale therefore not only presents a history of Flaxley Abbey and its historic and design-led contents, but it also offers a fascinating insight and opportunity to purchase works from the Messel family’s historic collection, going back generations.
