Captain Campbell surrounded himself with beautiful paintings, bronzes and art glass to adorn the walls and shelves of his home in the Quantock Hills. The extent and quality of his collection has only recently come to light. Spanning more than 135 works from the early 1800s to the twenty-first century, the collection includes several significant pieces. Campbell began collecting in 1962 and continued for over 60 years as evidenced by his detailed archiving of receipts. As well as providing all-important provenance, the paperwork shows purchases from prestigious London fine art galleries such as Richard Green and Thomas Agnew, as well as respected West Country dealers in Honiton and Plymouth. The principal pieces include four works by celebrated English artist Edward Seago and three by French impressionist/post-impressionist painter Marcel Dyf. Other notable artists represented are William Wyllie, Montague Dawson, Alexandre Louis Jacob, Charles Brooking and Dominic Serres. Common themes include marine and nature, reflecting Campbell’s long naval career and interest in the natural world.
He was just 13 when he enrolled as a cadet at BRNC Dartmouth in 1946. He served on submarines before becoming a specialist in hydrographic surveying - the science of measurement and mapping physical features of bodies of water, a skill which took him around the world including Antarctica aboard the HMS Endurance. During the Falklands War he led the conversion of deep ocean survey vessel HMS Hydra into a hospital ship, which transported wounded personnel to Uruguay. For this significant contribution, he was appointed OBE in the 1983 New Year’s Honour’s List.
In later years, Captain Campbell settled in a rural village near Taunton to work at the Hydrographic Office, retiring in 1994 and remaining in his bungalow until his death in 2023. Having married in 1975, he became a widower just eight years later. Though he had no children of his own, he was close to his two nephews and a niece, who lived in South Africa. They holidayed at his Somerset home, and he paid return visits. The sculptural element of the collection reflects this connection with Africa and his love of wildlife with superb bronzes of mostly African animals from foremost British wildlife sculptors such as Mark Coreth and Hamish Mackie, some of which were reserved directly with the artists in advance. His family take pride in his support of the creative industries; for example, he commissioned pieces from West Country makers demonstrated by notes of thanks from the artists and galleries.
Captain Campbell's broad interest in art and love of history are evident in a striking selection of glassware dating from eighteenth century engraved wine glasses through to contemporary colourful studio-glass vases. The antique glasses are mainly English, such as a Georgian air-twist Jacobite wine glass, but also include a Dutch Zeeland province armorial wine glass, thought to be circa 1750. Modern pieces, engraved with the makers’ signatures, include works by influential glass artists such as Peter Layton, James Denison-Pender and Jonathan Harris.
Duncan Chilcott said: “It is rare for one person to embrace such a wide variety of tastes and techniques, from traditional oil and watercolour paintings to contemporary sculpture and art-glass. As auctioneers it has been a privilege to curate the Captain Campbell Collection and to play a part in bringing such a significant collection to light.”
Estimates range from around £100 for a piece of studio glass to £20,000 for an Edward Seago oil painting, plus 25 percent Buyers Premium.
