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<\/p>\nA previously undiscovered photo album belonging to Clare Sheridan, the cousin of Winston Churchill once suspected of being a Soviet spy, has sold for more than \u00a38,000 at auction.<\/p>\n
The album, which contains over 80 rare photographs from her secret trip to Soviet Russia in 1920, was found during a routine valuation by auctioneer Andrew Stowe of Bristol\u2019s Auctioneum.<\/p>\n
The discovery caused excitement among historians and collectors, with five bidders from \u201cboth sides of the Atlantic\u201d vying for the piece. It ultimately sold for \u00a36,600, reaching \u00a38,250 with fees.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a wonderful result for this special and controversial piece of history,\u201d Stowe said, describing the moment he found the album as a \u201ceureka\u201d discovery. \u201cIt\u2019s quite a special moment\u2014things like that don\u2019t happen every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clare Sheridan, a sculptor and writer, became entangled in political controversy after traveling to Russia in 1920. Following an affair with Soviet diplomat Lev Kamenev in London, she was invited to Moscow under the pretense of sculpting Soviet leaders such as Lenin and Trotsky.<\/p>\n
However, her activities in Russia went beyond art, according to Stowe. \u201cIt was quite a promiscuous trip, and she was quite a character\u2014a strong, independent, and powerful young woman who knew exactly what she wanted in life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The album includes a series of rare, annotated photographs, among them the first known image of Bolshevik revolutionary Mikhail Borodin. It also documents Sheridan\u2019s journey from the Isle of Wight to Norway and eventually into the Kremlin.<\/p>\n
Some of the images appear to be casual travel photos, but they provide a unique and personal perspective on a significant historical period. \u201cOne of the pictures early in the book shows Clare Sheridan with Lev Kamenev. They\u2019re sat on the grass on the Isle of Wight as any young couple would,\u201d Stowe noted.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The British government at the time viewed her Soviet connections with suspicion, leading to speculation that she was a Russian spy. Although she was never officially charged, her relationships with key Bolshevik figures made her a controversial figure in British society.<\/p>\n
Among the most sentimental pieces in the collection is a signed photograph of Winston Churchill, dedicated to Sheridan\u2019s daughter. The connection between the two cousins was often strained, given her political affiliations and rebellious lifestyle.<\/p>\n
The sale of the album highlights the enduring fascination with Sheridan\u2019s life and the complex history of early Soviet-British relations. \u201cThe intense bidding just goes to show that there is still plenty of interest in her story,\u201d Stowe said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A previously undiscovered photo album belonging to Clare Sheridan, the cousin of Winston Churchill once suspected of being a Soviet spy, has sold for more than \u00a38,000 at auction. The album, which contains over 80 rare photographs from her secret trip to Soviet Russia in 1920, was found during a routine valuation by auctioneer Andrew […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":6418,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6416","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-international"},"yoast_head":"\n