CYRIL Reddihough will be remembered by many as a successful lawyer and senior partner in an established Ilkley and Bradford firm of solicitors.

But to the art world he was a collector with impeccable taste, whose support was crucial to the most influential voice in British Modernism.

Just how impeccable his taste was has been demonstrated with the sale of his collection – dubbed one of the finest in the region – for an impressive £4.9 million. The auction at Bonhams smashed all estimates and included more than £1.8 million for Henry Moore’s Reclining Figure – a world record for a Moore plaster. Pill Creek by Ben Nicholson sold for £722,500.

Mr Reddihough, who grew up in Ilkley, was a talented amateur artist and a senior partner in the law firm Last and Reddihough, later to evolve into Last Cawthra Feather and then LCF Law. He died in 2001 after building up an impressive art collection which included paintings and sculptures by key figures in British Modernist art, as well as his lifelong friend and internationally acclaimed abstract artist Ben Nicholson, who he first met in 1927. Other works in the collection are by Nicholson’s first wife Winifred, his second wife, Dame Barbara Hepworth, as well as Henry Moore, Christopher Wood, Alfred Wallis and Mary Newcomb.

Now lawyers at LCF Law have been appointed to advise on the inheritance tax surrounding the sale of the artwork following the death of Mr Reddihough’s widow, Una.

Bonhams director of Modern British and Irish Art Matthew Bradbury said: “The astonishing total for this landmark collection is testimony to Cyril Reddihough’s great taste. His patronage of Ben Nicholson provided the artist with the security he needed to develop his ideas and was crucial to the emergence of the most distinctive and influential voice in British Modernism.”

Ann Christian from LCF Law said: “The collection that Cyril Reddihough assembled during his lifetime is truly amazing and demonstrates his ability to identify art that would eventually become extremely desirable, at a time when some of Nicholson’s work wasn’t always being well-received by the wider public.

“It’s an honour to be involved with his work, especially because of his past links to LCF Law and I’m delighted that the collection has been so popular with art enthusiasts.”