The Simon Hilton Collection 27 July 2026

Monday 27 July 2026

Roderic Barrett (British, 1920-2000)

£200 - 300 Lot 61

‘Chairs and Men’ wood engraving, signed and dated Roderic Barrett ‘51’ numbered 11/50 image 26 x 20.5cm

The Simon Hilton Collection

Monday 27 July 2026 | 10am

Viewing

A selection of highlights will be available to preview from 6-17 July at our London Gallery, 15 Cecil Court, London WC2N 4EZ, as follows:

Monday 6 - Friday 17 July Weekends 11am - 5:30pm Closed

We will be offering viewing of the full sale at our Stansted Mountfitchet saleroom on the following dates and times:

Thursday 23 July Friday 24 July Sunday 26 July 10am - 4pm 10am - 4pm 10am - 1pm

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Philip Wilson Steer OM (British, 1860-1942) Shipping in Dover Harbour signed and dated ‘P. W Steer 1918’ watercolour over pencil

23.5 x 34cm

£400 - 600

An Introduction

It is with great pleasure that I introduce a selection of works from the esoteric collection of Simon Hilton.

I am honoured to say that Simon has been a friend and colleague of mine for more than 30 years, during which time he has often surprised and always delighted me.

I think of him as the grandfather of the East Anglian art market, a term I am sure he will hate, still being very much young at heart.

He seems to have never changed - tall with flowing locks, a beard, a cravat, a hearty smile – and at times, an uncanny resemblance to Mick Fleetwood. He is, and always has been, a free spirit…and I simply cannot imagine him behind an accountancy desk, as he recounts elsewhere in this gallery guide.

He has introduced me to numerous artists and styles, and I have quickly learnt to trust his knowledge, judgement and ‘eye’.

As Simon states elsewhere in this brochure, he does not buy for purely commercial purposes, he buys what he likes. And this auction is a chance for us all to appreciate his discernment and skill.

Guy Schooling | Chairman

June 2026

Sir Jacob

42 x 57cm

£2,000 - 3,000

(American-British, 1880-1959)

Roderic Barrett (British, 1920-2000)

Don Quixote, circa 1947

verso a study of a child, oil on canvas

61 x 46cm

£2,000 - 3,000

Kenneth Armitage (British, 1916-2002)

Female nude signed with initials and dated ‘60’ charcoal and ink

40.5 x 48.5cm

£1,500 -2,000 Lot 1

Patrick Hayman (British, 1915-1988)

Still life signed ‘Hayman’ watercolour and gouache over pencil 23 x 33cm

£400 - 600

Patrick Brill RA aka ‘Bob and Roberta Smith’ (British, b.1963)

‘Leeds is the New Hull’, 1999 vinyl silk and gloss paint on panel 62 x 61cm

£1,000 - 1,500

Sir Jacob Epstein (American-British, 1880-1959)

Sheila bronze with a dark brown patina, conceived in 1924 24cm wide, 24cm deep, 35.5cm high

£3,000 - 5,000

Henry Moore OM CH FBA (British, 1898-1986)

‘Fledgling’, 1960

bronze with a brown patina, signed and numbered ‘Moore 4/9’, stamped with foundry mark to base 18cm wide, 8cm deep, 9cm high

£12,000 - 18,000

Sir Jacob Epstein (American-British 1880-1959)

Yehudi Menuhin

bronze with a golden-brown patina, conceived 1943 19cm wide, 25cm deep, 27cm high

£6,000 - 8,000

Sir Jacob Epstein (American-British, 1880-1959)

Olive

bronze with a dark brown patina conceived in 1934 19cm wide, 26cm deep, 33cm high

£3,000 - 5,000

John Wragg RA (British, 1937-2020)

Figure, circa 1965

aluminium 8cm wide, 10cm deep, 39.5cm high

£500 - 800

David Jones CH (British, 1895-1974)

‘Agnus Dei’ the inner door of the safe used as Eric Gill’s chapel tabernacle together with the original safe with red painted cross, oil on metal inner door 25.5cm wide, 8.5cm deep, 36cm high safe 40cm wide, 35cm deep, 50cm high

£8,000-10,000

John Piper CH (British, 1903-1992)

‘Foliate Head’, 1976 lithograph in colours signed ‘John Piper’ image 38 x 26cm

£400 - 600

Frank Dobson RA (British, 1886-1963)

Martin Lowinsky, circa 1929-31 bronze with a dark brown patina signed ‘F. Dobson’ to base 20cm wide, 22cm deep, 34cm high

£1,000 - 2,000 Lot 120

Peter Schmidt (British, 1931-1980)

’Collage XII’, 1968 signed ‘Peter Schmidt’ mixed media collage 109 x 73.5cm

£400 - 600

Anton Goossens (Belgian, 1903-1980)

Abstract figure verso a study of a head signed and dated ‘Goossens ‘58’ oil on board 122 x 166cm

£300 - 400

Ceri Richards (British, 1903-1971)

‘Rape of the Sabines’ signed and dated ‘Ceri Richards 1946’ pen and ink and watercolour

17.5 x 24.5cm

£2,500 - 3,500

Kenneth Armitage (British, 1916-2002) ‘Daydream’, 1973 polyester resin with screenprinted elements 10cm wide, 12cm deep, 27cm high

£800 - 1,200

In Conversation with Simon Hilton

As his collection comes to auction, Simon reflects on a lifetime immersed in the world of art, considering the people, places and artworks that have informed his eye as a collector.

How did your interest in art and collecting begin?

I grew up around gallery spaces and have always been interested in paintings and objects. I remember as a schoolchild, I collected stamps and cheese labels, and traded them, so I suppose I have always been a trader in one form or another.

As an older schoolboy, I moved on and started buying arms and armour, much of it from an antique shop at the top of the High Street in Saffron Walden, run by Mr Dix. Every time I called in, Mrs Dix would give me a choc ice from the fridge and Mr Dix would give me a piece of an African spear, a sword or a fragment of armour. As a result, my whole bedroom was surrounded by arms and armour!

The consolation was that when I first got married, I sold the collection, and it paid for the deposit on a house.

Did your family background influence your career?

Yes, very much so. My father had a gallery in Cambridge - the King Street Gallery - which during my teens showed contemporary artists, and some of those artists I have gone on collecting, simply because I grew up knowing them.

One of those was Roderick Barrett, whose work is represented in this sale. My father gave Barrett one of his first exhibitions in the late 1940s and recalled him arriving in an open Austin 7 with all the pictures piled on the back seat. Fast forward to when I began dealing on my own, and I would regularly buy Roderick Barrett’s pictures because I liked them, including a number of his fantastic wood engravings which feature in the sale.

How did you first become an art dealer?

I didn’t go straight into the art world. After leaving school, I moved away from what my father did and became an accountant for four or five years.

But one summer, when my father was ill, I took my three-week holiday to look after the gallery in Cambridge. At the end of those three weeks, I rang my boss and asked whether he would double my salary. He told me to get lost, so I said, ‘Okay, I’m not coming back,’ and I have been here ever since.

Have you always specialised in Modern British and contemporary art?

No, not at first. When I joined my father, we dealt mainly in French Barbizon art. That was in the late 1970s and 1980s. However, occasionally I bought Modern British art, and over time that became a much greater interest.

I remember buying two Ivon Hitchens paintings for £500 each. I had them for about a year and couldn’t sell them, so I put them up for sale at Christie’s, where they failed to reach their reserve price. I took them back and there they hung on the gallery wall for another year.

Then, one Saturday morning, someone came in and asked if I had an Ivon Hitchens. I said yes, and he bought one for £750. An hour later, another person came in and asked the same thing, and bought the second one. As he was leaving, I asked what had happened. He said there had been an article in the Telegraph by Terence Mullaly saying that Ivon Hitchens was an artist to watch.

That is the nature of being a trader; prices go up and down. Some things I bought cheaply are now expensive. Some I bought cheaply are still cheap!

Can you talk us through some of your favourite pieces in the sale?

One of my favourite pieces is the Epstein bust of Isabel. Isabel was Epstein’s model in the early 1930s and had an extraordinary life. She later went to Paris, where she became connected with artists including Derain and Giacometti, and she was also painted by Francis Bacon.

She was a remarkable figure, and the sculpture carries that whole story with it. It is not just a portrait; it is a connection to a much wider artistic world.

Are there any other artists in the collection you are particularly fond of?

Undoubtedly, Peter Schmidt. He was a German-born artist who came to this country after the war. I first came across his work by chance, when I was driving back from London and saw a sign for an art fair near Hertford, so I took a detour.

Unfortunately, there was almost nothing there that interested me, but there was one painting that I really liked. I asked who it was by and was told it was by Peter Schmidt. I had never heard of him, but I thought it was a very good piece of painting. I later found out he had been quite a high-profile artist in the 1960s, had exhibited at the Lisson Gallery, and that the BBC had made a Monitor programme about him.

The man who had the picture had also bought the remains of Schmidt’s studio. I bought the collection and some of the remaining works are now included in this sale.

The sale also includes works by John Nash. How did those come into the collection?

John Nash is an artist I have always liked. For years, I bought and sold his work. About 25 years ago, after the death of David Wolfers of the New Grafton Gallery, his daughter, Claudia, became John Nash’s art executor. Eventually, I bought part of the remaining John Nash estate, much of which I have sold over the years. However, several works are still in the collection and are included in the sale.

What can people expect from this collection?

The collection is made up of pictures and objects that I bought because I simply liked

them. I have learnt never to buy a picture I didn’t like, because that way, if I didn’t sell it, I could still hang it on the wall and enjoy it.

I have never bought things from a purely commercial point of view. I bought them because I liked the objects and it is the pleasure those objects have given me that has sustained my life over the years.

Why does this feel like the right moment to sell?

I now spend four or five months of the year in France, and I am thinking about developing a barn I have in Norfolk into an extension of the house. The barn is currently full of pictures, so, as well as needing the space, it feels like the right time.

Would you do it all again?

Yes! I have enjoyed every moment. There have been periods when I have been flush and periods when I have been totally skint, but I have always managed to scrape by.

The real delight has been the life that dealing has given me. One of the great pleasures is sitting in my library, starting to research something I have bought, and then four hours later finding I have gone through five or six other books, because each one has led to something else. That is the joy this life has given me.

Image on Right-hand Page:

John Nash RA (British, 1893-1977) Iris pencil and watercolour 34 x 30cm

£600 - 800

To watch a full video interview with Simon Hilton, scan the QR code.

‘I’ve never bought things from a purely commercial point of view. I’ve bought them because I actually like the objects and it’s the pleasure the objects give me that has actually sustained my life over the years.’

Martin Bradley (British, 1931-2023)

‘Chevalier’

signed and dated ‘Martin Bradley 1962’ verso sketch of a knight, oil on canvas 123 x 200cm

£3,000 - 5,000 Lot 24

Simon Bussy (French, 1870-1954)

‘Knitting’

signed ‘S. Bussy’, oil on canvas

46 x 33cm

£1,500 - 2,000

Sir Max Beerbohm (British, 1872-1956)

‘Virginia’ signed with monogram inscribed and dated ‘Virginia/Rapello/1935’ pencil and watercolour 32 x 15cm

£2,000-3,000

Lucien Pissarro (French, 1863-1944)

Charmouth Hill, Lyme Regis

signed with monogram and dated ‘1935’ oil on panel

34.5 x 44.5cm

£6,000 - 8,000

Private Collections

Sworders have a nationwide reputation for conducting successful auctions of substantial and important collections. We believe items sell better as part of a named collection, giving bidders the opportunity to value the provenance and story behind them, bringing the pieces to life, and enabling prospective purchasers to bid with enthusiasm and confidence.

To discuss your collection, please contact privatecollections@sworder.co.uk 01279 817778

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Cover Images

John Nash RA (British, 1893-1977) Kneeling Nude, 1920s verso a standing nude pen and ink with black chalk 53 x 38cm

£600 - 800 Lot 160 Front Lot 8

Back

Ben Nicholson OM (British, 1894-1982) ‘Palaestra’ etching, artist’s copy signed and dated ‘Nicholson ‘65’ sheet 32 x 37.5cm presented in the artist’s original linen frame

£800 - 1,200

Augustus John OM RA (British, 1878-1961)

Portrait of Justin Lowinsky signed and dated ‘John/1940’ crayon and pastel

45 x 32.5cm

£1,800 - 2,000