Nina Campbell remembers Antony Little

There are some individuals whose presence lingers long after the room has emptied, whose sensibility shapes not only what they collect, but how one learns to see. Antony Little was such a man. To have known him was to encounter a singular eye, restless, curious, and unfailingly assured, paired with a generosity of spirit that made every space he inhabited feel alive.

What I admired most in Antony was his instinctive understanding of style. Not style as mere decoration, but as a language, one that spoke through juxtaposition, wit, and an unerring sense of balance. He created interiors that were never static arrangements of objects, but rather living stages. Each piece had a role to play, each corner a quiet drama unfolding. One did not simply visit; one entered into a composition that shifted subtly with the light, the company, and the moment.

Antony himself was no less memorable. There was a quiet charisma about him, an elegance that never felt studied, and a mind that moved quickly between eras, references, and ideas. Conversation with him was much like his interiors, layered, surprising, and deeply engaging.

One of Antony’s first and most lavish commissions was for John Aspinall, organising the various iconic ‘Romantic Feasts’ at The Claremont Club in Berkeley Square. The designs, now housed at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Even then, his instinct for atmosphere was unmistakable: he understood how to conjure not simply a setting, but a mood, a sense of occasion that lingered in the memory long after the evening had ended.

Looking back, it is clear that Antony’s vision extended far beyond his own walls. His designs and, perhaps more importantly, his imagination for display placed him firmly among the defining figures of London’s creative life in the 1960s. There was a sense of freedom then, a breaking of rules, and Antony not only embraced it but helped to shape it. In this, he stands as both a leader of London style and a true design icon of that remarkable decade.

This collection is not merely a reflection of taste, but of a life vividly and beautifully lived.

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Auction Details

Tuesday 12 May 2026, 10.30am BST
Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE

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