The collection has been acquired over the last 50 years by leading architect Bobby Chapman and his wife, Virginia, and includes a wealth of fine furniture and furnishings. The couple had different passions when it came to collecting; he was interested in paintings and sculpture and she had a passion for ceramics. They have recently sold their northwest Essex home, Debden Manor, and the contents will go under the hammer at Sworders’ Essex auction rooms.

Sworders’ Managing Director Guy Schooling said, “This delightful sale is the reflection of the personal taste and 50 years of passionate collecting by both Bobby and Virginia Chapman. Many of the projects Bobby worked on fueled his desire to enjoy art at home. The result is a superb collection, including many significant works of art from the 20th century including paintings by Lowry, Augustus John, his sister Gwen John and sculptures by Eric Gill. To see a complete collection of exceptional furniture and artwork from one house sold in its entirety is very rare.”

Bobby Chapman was a founding partner of the international architectural practice Champan Taylor Partners, whose commissions included New Scotland Yard, Lakeside Shopping Center, and the refurbishment of London’s St. Pancras Station. Bobby was keen to include sculpture in his projects and worked with Dame Elizabeth Frink and Bill Pye among others. As a result, works by these artists found their way into the Chapmans’ collection and this sale.

Bobby Chapman commissioned the only public sculpture in London’s Piccadilly – the famous work Horse and Rider by Elizabeth Frink, which stands in Dover Street near the Ritz Hotel. The original sketch of this work is one of the items due to be auctioned at the Sworders’ sale. Dame Elizabeth is widely considered to be one of the leading female British sculptors of the 20th century. Another piece of Frink’s work being sold is a miniature bronze of Hercules.

The auction also includes a miniature bronze of Jacob Epstein’s most famous commission, St. Michael slaying the devil. The full-size piece is currently on the front of Coventry Cathedral.

The Chapmans collected many interesting pieces of furniture from the 18th and 19th century, including a George II mahogany hall seat, circa 1735, similar to benches at Houghton Hall in Norfolk—designed by William Kent, the home of Britain’s first prime minister, Sir Robert Walpole, and currently the setting for the unique art exhibition “Houghton Revisited.” The bench was bought from Christopher Gibbs in the late 1970s and is to be offered with an estimate of £20,000-£30,000.

The sale, “An Architect’s Eye, A Collector’s Passion,” will take place, Tuesday and Wednesday starting at 10 a.m. GMT (2 a.m. Pacific).

View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE