Old Master Prints

Weird and wonderful subjects loom large in our December sale, led by an impressive collection of prints assembled by the Maxwell MacDonald family. Sir William Stirling-Maxwell Bt. (1818–1878) was a great art connoisseur, his collection featuring works of exceptional quality and rarity including Nicolaus Beatrizet's formidable Laocoön, circa 1545–1570.

A collection of woodcuts by Albrecht Dürer is also offered, culminating in a superb example of Samson rending the Lion, circa 1497–1498, alongside a first edition impression of the artist's most famous print, The Rhinoceros, 1515. The rare Gothic fantasy La Chimère, before 1771, by Jean-Louis Desprez leads a strong French section, with a first edition copy of Francisco Goya's great Los Desastres de la Guerra, 1810–1820 concluding the sale.