British Art Fills Fitzrovia Townhouse Walls

A grand Portland-stone building in London’s Fitzrovia neighborhood is home to a time capsule of Modern British art, belonging to collector Antony Wright. The apartment, located in a building dating from the late 1920s, features a collection that spans roughly a century of British art, including works by Francis Bacon and David Hockney.

Wright’s journey as an art collector began with a pair of drawings by Keith Vaughan, which he bought at around the age of 22 from Redfern Gallery in Cork Street. He recalls, ‘I didn’t have much money, but I bought them for £250, and they started the lifelong relationship that I still have with Vaughan’s work.’

The entrance to the apartment is a zig-zagging corridor, lined with a salon-style arrangement of Modern British drawings and paintings. They are stacked one above the other, though the existing mouldings dictate where they can be hung, enforcing a tight and considered display of the 50-plus works in the flat.

Interior designer Guy de Lotbinière leaned into the revelatory nature of the corridor, which offers a gradual unveiling of the marble Minotti kitchen and the dimly lit dining and living rooms beyond, with their pale-oak floors. His intention, he explains, was ‘to preserve the idea of a gallery’.

Wright’s collection includes works by figures such as Henri Gaudier-Brzeska and Gustaf Wolmar, hanging in the living room. The primary subject within the collection is the male figure: busts, nude studies, sharply detailed oil portraits and fragmented Cubist renderings. The variety of palettes, textures and approaches to the subject animates the restrained interior of the Grade II-listed property.

For Wright, it was ‘the intertwined, hidden lives of these artists’ that made the work compelling. Social connections can be traced across the collection through time, with much of that activity taking place close to Wright’s home, in Soho and Fitzrovia.

As someone who has long been interested in the ‘literary and artistic history’ of the area, Wright notes that ‘one artist would have been the teacher of the next generation, often through the Slade School of Art.’ Sometimes they were rivals, lovers or friends.

Wright already owned most of the furniture and objects in the apartment, but he also acquired works with the help of De Lotbinière, himself an art dealer and keen auction-goer. During the pandemic, the pair drove to regional salerooms and, as Wright recalls, ‘looked at art in the street.’

Wright’s collection spans roughly a century of British art and includes works by figures such as Francis Bacon and David Hockney, hanging in the bedroom and living room respectively.

The result is a newly renovated apartment that feels familiar, both in its collection of objects and in its dialogue with the neighbourhood. It is a space enlivened by long-held pieces and new acquisitions alike, where a century of interconnected artists continues to converse. Wright accepts that the building itself retains traces of its glamorous past, including a dumbwaiter shaft protected by the listed status.

Wright’s home is a reflection of his passion for curiosity and perception, which drives his pursuit of art and design.

De Lotbinière’s design expertise played a significant role in the renovation, and his experience in choosing the right materials helped to create a cohesive look throughout the apartment.