Five Elisabeth Frink chess pieces, each numbered 1/10, sold by Reeman Dansie (plus 20% buyer’s premium) as part of the Stanley Studios collection on May 9. From left to right, they sold for prices of £8000 (bishop), £32,000 (king), £8600 (pawn), £11,000 (queen) and £28,000 (rook). The king measures 4in (10cm) high.
“When I first visited, the hairs on the back of my neck shot up. I knew immediately this was a unique capsule – a bohemian delight where a generation of artists had been inspired, had lived, loved and socialised.”
When in January this year Jonathan Benson of Reeman Dansie visited a converted block of Victorian artist studios in Chelsea to conduct a probate valuation he knew he “would never see the like again”.