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One of them has amassed a property empire that includes a £39m John Nash mansion overlooking Regent’s Park. The other settled for a modest north London house, which remained uncleaned decade after decade.
But those who assume that shark fisherman Damien Hirst has for years been Britain’s highest-paid artist (certainly infinitely richer than sculptor Phyllida Barlow) may now need to revise that assessment.
Because I can reveal that Dame Phyllida, who died last year at the age of 78, bequeathed a fortune of no less than £91.5 million, almost every penny earned in the last 13 years of her life.
The details, revealed in probate documents, represent an extraordinary transformation for an artist who, as an obituary records, “for decades sold nothing,” a fact that suggests that her enthusiasm for creating ramshackle works from a trove of painted trash creepy way was not widely shared.
Dame Phyllida (pictured), who died last year aged 78, bequeathed a fortune of no less than £91.5 million, almost every penny earned in the last 13 years of her life.
One admiring critic compared one of his works to “a 30-foot-high ladder made of packing boxes (that) leads nowhere.”
Barlow and her husband, fellow artist Fabian Peake, who had five children, had been left almost poor by the 1980s, even though Barlow had become a teacher at the Slade School of Fine Arts in London.
But in 2010, a year after he retired at age 65, an exhibition of his work was held at London’s Serpentine Gallery. It brought her critical praise and the attention of the Swiss gallery Hauser & Wirth, of which Princess Eugenie is now director.
His co-founder, Iwan Wirth, decided to visit Barlow at his home. Upon arrival, he told his driver that they must have taken the wrong address. But they didn’t.
An exhibition followed in 2011, as did many others, as well as a commission from Tate Britain and a selection to represent his country at the Venice Biennale.
Although it had not been seen until now, the money poured in. One admiring critic compared one of his works to “a 30-foot-high ladder made of packing boxes (that) leads nowhere.” Except, it turns out, an astonishing fortune, which Barlow left entirely to her husband.
The pure elegance of Jude Girl in Cannes
The 23-year-old model, whose mother is Law’s ex-wife Sadie Frost, wore a sheer lace Saint Laurent dress to the premiere of The Shrouds.
Jude Law has been the center of attention at the Cannes Film Festival many times in the past.
This year, her daughter, Iris Law, is determined to turn heads with her outfits. The 23-year-old model, whose mother is Law’s ex-wife Sadie Frost, wore a sheer lace Saint Laurent dress at the premiere of The Shrouds, a horror film starring Diane Kruger and Guy Pearce.
There was no sign of Trent Alexander-Arnold, 25, the Liverpool footballer with whom she was recently photographed in London. They are believed to have exchanged numbers after meeting at a fashion shoot last month.
The Bishop of Leeds, Nicholas ‘Nick’ Baines, has a strange way of communicating with his flock. In a parliamentary debate, His Excellency reveals that he is not interested in cricket.
“I really need to make a confession,” he says. ‘I live in Headingley; I have never been (to the cricket field). Cricket is one of those sports that I guess some people like.
‘I’ve never understood it. I’d rather curl. Sacrilege!
Ringo plays the drum for the old people
Ringo Starr believes fellow musical gentleman Mick Jagger is right not to test the patience of Rolling Stones fans by playing their entire new album on tour.
“I promise you that any band that says, ‘I’d like to do something from my new LP,’ will be able to feel the vibe of people going to the bathroom or going to get some t-shirts,” says the former Beatle, 83.
Ringo is proud of his new EP Crooked Boy. But the legendary drummer promises that he won’t play any of it when his band goes on tour. “This, with the All Starrs, is great because (playing the hits) is the reason we’re there.”
The great curator Sir David Davis was desperate to attend the launch party at the Carlton Club in St James’s London for Finding Margaret: Solving The Mystery Of My Birth Mother, the fast-paced new memoir by my colleague Andrew Pierce.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” chirped the former Conservative leadership contender. “It is the first documentary evidence that Andrew Pierce pursues a woman.”
Toad’s trauma deters Prue from pruning
Dame Prue Leith had a nasty little accident in her Cotswolds garden which really put her off gardening.
When you’re 84, the physical demands of gardening can be a little much, but for the irrepressible Dame Prue Leith it was a nasty little accident in her Cotswolds garden that really put her off.
“I was digging my vegetable garden when I stuck a live toad through with a spade,” he grimaces at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. “It bothered me that I killed that thing.”
Speaking in the garden of Freedom From Torture, the charity for which she is an ambassador, the Bake Off judge admits: “It would have been worse if I had killed a hedgehog.” Not for the toad.
This is imperfect timing: locals are up in arms over plans to charge them to visit Windsor Castle for the first time, ending 200 years of tradition.
And now the Royal Collection Trust is looking for a £40,000-a-year ‘visitor services manager’ for the King’s Berkshire residence.
“At the heart of Windsor’s visitor operations team, you will be responsible for ensuring every visitor has an exceptional experience,” the ad gushes.
And considering the exceptional number of complaints from angry locals, there’s no doubt…
What can I get for dinner with Hunt?
Busy Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt will have to find time to prepare dinner for the winning bidder at an auction at St Paul’s Girls’ School in west London.
The food had better be tasty because it sold for £6,200 at the auction, where former student Rachel Johnson acted as auctioneer. “I wonder if he cooks Chinese or Japanese food,” joked LBC presenter Rachel, sister of former Prime Minister Boris.
Hunt, you may recall, once mistakenly referred to his Chinese-born wife Lucia as Japanese during a visit to Beijing when he was Foreign Secretary.
