Property from the Aline Elwes McDonnell Trust

FREEMAN'S | HINDMAN

European Art & Antiques From the Property of the Aline Elwes McDonnell Trust

Freeman's | Hindman

28 May 2024

Our sister saleroom in the USA, Freeman's | Hindman is pleased to present their 21 June auction of Property from the Aline Elwes McDonnell Trust, introduced here by Freeman's | Hindman Managing Director of New York Gemma Sudlow.

Property from the Aline Elwes McDonnell Trust

Explore the Freeman's | Hindman forthcoming auction

VISIT FREEMAN'S | HINDMAN

Aline Elwes McDonnell’s lineage is traceable back as far as King George II of England and Copped Hall in Essex was a site near the town of Epping that dates back to medieval times – originally home to the FitzAucher family who held the office of Foresters. The meaning of ‘Copped’ has its roots in the old English term for peak and denotes the vantage point of the site upon which the 18th century version of the house was built. No fewer than three grand country houses graced the site until the demise of the Wyatt aggrandized version (now thankfully undergoing restoration by a local trust) in a devastating fire of 1917.

$3,000 - $5,000

A SET OF SIX REGENCY FAUX BAMBOO ARMCHAIRS

CIRCA 1820

$6,000 - $8,000

PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG MAN

ATTD. TO BARTHOLOMEUS VAN DER HELST, DUTCH 1613-1670

$15,000 - $30,000

AN IMPORTANT GEORGE III HAREWOOD & MARQUETRY COMMODE

CIRCA 1775

The story goes that the few household staff and gardeners that remained during the war years, armed with only a small handpump to quell the flames, dragged furniture, paintings and objects out onto the lawn to save them from destruction. Much was sold off or dispersed thereafter to offset the huge losses incurred at the time but what remained was rehoused at The Wood House (an 1898 confection in the high Tudor revivalist style on the estate grounds) where the family moved following the catastrophic event. A number of the objects in this auction are featured in imagery from aforementioned Country Life article on The Wood House in 1959. This time capsule of 100 or so items made the transatlantic journey following Aline Mary Margaret Elwes marriage to New Yorker, Hubert McDonnell Jr. (1919-2004), in the Brompton Oratory in 1948.

The pair settled in Greenwich, Connecticut and shipped the extant portion of the collection, bequeathed to Aline, by boat in the early 1950s, where they have been lovingly preserved ever since. The family hopes a new generation of custodians will care for these heirlooms and Freeman’s I Hindman is honored to be the auction house of choice for this beautiful group of English furniture, silver, portraits and forgotten treasures. Please join us this June in New York and Philadelphia to be inspired and transported with what Disraeli described as that “soul-subduing sentiment, harshly called flirtation, which is the spell of a country house”.

“Houses live and die: there is a time for building And a time for living and for generation And a time for the wind to break the loosened pane And to shake the wainscot where the field-mouse trots And to shake the tattered arras woven with a silent motto.”
-T.S. Eliot, East Coker

AUCTION

European Art & Antiques From the Property of the Aline Elwes McDonnell Trust

Property from the Aline Elwes McDonnell Trust will be offered in a live auction in Philadelphia at 2400 Market St, Philadelphia on 21 June 2024 at 10 am ET.

A New York preview will be held at Freeman’s | Hindman New York Gallery located at 32 East 67 Street from 3-11 June.

VIEW THE AUCTION

ABOUT

About Freeman's | Hindman

Expanding its reach into the international market, Lyon & Turnbull formed a strategic marketing alliance with the historic U.S. auction house Freeman’s, in 2000.

Freeman’s holds an esteemed place as America's oldest auction house and as one of the country’s first family-owned businesses. The company was founded by Tristram Bampfylde Freeman in 1805 and remained in the hands of the Freeman family for six generations, until 2016, with landmark sales throughout its storied history. Freeman’s new flagship location is in Center City’s prestigious 2400 Market Street.

In 2023, Freeman’s and Hindman Auctions merged to form Freeman’s | Hindman, represented in 18 cities across the United States, and operates six salerooms, more than any other auction house in the country.

FREEMAN'S | HINDMAN

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gemma Sudlow

Managing Director, New York Region