A 1936 Rolls-Royce is to sell at Mossgreen Auctions in Sydney, Australia.
The car originally belonged to Frank Owen Salisbury (1874-1962), a well-known English society painter.
He painted some of the most important people of his era, including Winston Churchill and Benito Mussolini. Remarkably, he was primarily self-taught.
The Rolls-Royce belonged to a famous British painter
His talent was spotted while working in a stained glass workshop. Later he managed to win a scholarship to one of the Royal Academy’s schools in the 1890s.
He never travelled to Australia himself, the car was sold to a buyer there in the early 1960s.
It’s finished with blue aluminium coachwork by celebrated coachbuilder HJ Mulliner and remains in extraordinarily good condition despite its advanced age.
James Nicholls of Mossgreen’s car department comments: “Not only is this a magnificent example of a Rolls-Royce of this period but its provenance adds hugely to its interest.
“How many of us can say that they own a car which was driven by a man whose talent took him, without any education, to the very top of society on both sides of the Atlantic.
“Holding the steering wheel, your hands rest where his golden gifted hands rested. Imagine if this car could speak the secrets it might whisper?”
The Rolls is valued at $92,088-122,784 ahead of the May 28 auction.
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