The forthcoming auction of Fine Interiors, taking place on 8th March 2022, includes an intriguing collection put together over many years by Cherry Barker, the former actress and model.
Over 110 lots will be offered covering paintings and prints of country pursuits and wildlife, silhouettes, samplers and needlework, fine Staffordshire porcelain and ceramics along with oak, ash, elm, pine and walnut furniture and objects from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Ahead of the auction The Pedestal met with Caroline, Cherry’s daughter, to find out more about her mother’s collecting passions, the whirlwind London life of Cherry and her husband, Peter, and their retreat to the Wiltshire countryside.
Tell me about your mother Cherry?
She was initially an actress, and trained from the age of 18, during the war, at the Webber Douglas School of Singing and Dramatic Art. She appeared in two films, Piccadilly Incident (1946) starring Anna Neagle and Michael Wilding, it was one of the most popular films at the British box office that year. Wilding rather liked working with Cherry and to keep her on set would intentionally forget his lines when they were in scenes together. And, then Blanche Fury (1948) with Stewart Granger and Valerie Hobson. She met my father, Peter, at the Old Vic theatre at a first night event there. When they were married Cherry felt she could not successfully combine the two roles of actress and mother to two children, Charlie and Caroline, and she turned to modelling – but, of course she never really stopped being an actress. She wasn’t a fashion model but appeared in print and television advertisements, for instance, she was in the first ad. for the mini car and the popular campaign, ‘yoo-hoo ty-phoo’ for the tea brand. Her drama training was not wasted, as she used these skills to create vibrant, attractive characters for her ads and she was incredibly busy and successful.
And, your father, Peter, he also had an interesting life?
Peter was a little older than Cherry, born in 1915, and during World War II he served in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve. He did not see much action but he worked for the Second Sea Lord and importantly for his life after the War made friends with Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier. In 1944, with the War turning in the Allies’ favour, the two actors were released by the Royal Navy in order to re-establish the Old Vic theatre. With the War over, Peter was back in London, and one day as he was heading to the City to find a job, when he bumped into Ralph Richardson who persuaded him to join him instead at the Old Vic as the General Manager.
Bill Astor, 3rd Viscount Astor, and Peter were both heavily involved with the Naval Club, on Hill Street in central London. Bill was my brother’s god father and he was keen for my parents to make use of Spring cottage, on the Cliveden estate, at the weekends. They decided against taking it, and it was ultimately rented by the society osteopath, Stephen Ward – the rest, as they say, is history!
Peter and Cherry were great friends with Donald Campbell, the land and water speed record holder, they had met through mutual friends and Donald was to become a large figure in their lives. Campbell had an infectious energy and was invariably in search of the next adventure, ‘let’s go off, I’m bored’, he would declare. Peter became Campbell’s manager and in the late ‘50s gave him Mr Whoppit, a toy teddy bear, as a lucky mascot. Campbell was notoriously superstitious and soon refused to drive unless Mr Whoppit was with him in the cockpit. Sadly, Campbell died in 1967 while attempting a new speed record on Lake Coniston, but within minutes of the crash Mr Whoppit had floated free from the wreckage and was retrieved, it was incredibly poignant.
When and how did Cherry’s collecting start?
My parents had a very good life together, they entertained a great deal and loved living in London. Cherry had always been fascinated by antiques, and interior decoration. She had worked for the renowned interior decorator, Christopher Rowley, on Lower Sloane Street, and here honed her eye in the sourcing of good, appealing items. She loved Portobello Road, and was to be found there most Saturday afternoons, she enjoyed the browsing and buying process. Her focus was on pretty, attractive pieces and she gravitated towards Staffordshire porcelain.
Tell me about their country home and how that influenced Cherry’s collection?
In London my parents lived in Holland Park, and, about 50 years ago, some very good London friends tipped them off about Wiltshire where they had a second home. The commute to London was about to become a lot easier with the imminent construction of the M4 motorway, and their friends encouraged them to buy a country home in Sharcott, near Pewsey.
When my father retired they decided to sell the London house and live full time in Wiltshire. Their Holland Park home had been furnished in a townhouse fashion and many of the pieces from here would not have worked in a country home, for example, in London the porcelain was Meissen and Dresden, and paintings were set in heavy gold frames, whereas Cherry had acquired her Staffordshire pieces, maple framed paintings and prints, and oak and pine furniture specifically for the period Sharcott interiors and they suited them perfectly.
Living in Wiltshire, Cherry’s collecting continued, she and I would scour the local antique shops and she started buying and selling in her own right. She took a cabinet in Hungerford’s antiques arcade, and later worked from home when a barn in the grounds was converted into ‘Cherry’s Trove’. Her friends visited and it was great fun, the enterprise flourished and Cherry was forever on the look out for pieces for these friends. She knew her own taste well and I am continually reminded of her style when I see items she tracked down in her friends’ homes to this day.
Did Cherry become a country lady?
She loved the country, but my parents continued to entertain as they had done in London, and their London friends often visited. I remember the actor, Christopher Lee and his wife Gitte often came down to stay. Christopher was imposing, well over six feet tall, and so we placed a stool at the end of his bed to support his legs.
Cherry was always glamorous and well turned out, with immaculate hair and makeup. Of course her dress style changed somewhat, but she was fascinated by clothes and fashion, even in her later years was still buying garments to add to her wardrobe. My parents’ library included many autobiographies and it fascinates me to see them mentioned in numerous books, they certainly hit the headlines at times, and, although not at all notorious they occasionally appeared in the gossip columns.
If my mother were to walk into a room you would know instantaneously that she loved people, adored parties and could hold people’s attention, she had a natural confidence. She liked having people in the house, and playing hostess, be it just for drinks or an elaborate dinner party.
What did Cherry like most in her collection?
She loved her Staffordshire porcelain, for their elegant designs, there was so much to catch the eye when Cherry arranged them in groups in her Sharcott home.
And, of course, her paintings and prints depicting horses, she frequently commented that she could ride before she could walk, and she had a great affinity with horses. Lot 66 from the auction, The Hackney stallion, Langton Duke, an oil on canvas from 1897 by A. Hemsley, was a gift from Cherry’s great friends Bea and Richard Greene and a particular favourite. Richard was an actor, perhaps best known for his lead role in the TV series, The Adventures of Robin Hood, which ran from 1955-59.
Cherry Barker – Collecting the English Vernacular | To be offered within the auction of Fine Interiors, 8th March 2022
For all auction enquiries contact: Guy Savill or Sally Stratton MRICS | +44 (0)20 7281 2790 or info@thepedestal.com