I remember sitting in a dimly lit backroom of a London auction house in 2004, staring at a stunning oil on canvas, 60cm x 80cm, 1952, and feeling a cold knot of dread in my stomach. The dealer was leaning in, whispering sweet nothings about the “extraordinary pedigree” of the piece, but the paperwork was […]
I remember sitting in my gallery back in the late nineties, watching a collector hesitate before a beautiful oil on canvas—twelve by twelve inches, 1994—because they were terrified of “doing it wrong” without a white-glove dealer holding their hand. They thought that without a prestigious street address and a polished salesperson, they were somehow participating […]
I remember sitting in the back of a crowded studio in the late nineties, watching a young painter weep because his oil landscape had turned into a muddy, grey mess after a week of improper layering. He’d been told that oils were the only “serious” medium for a professional, a romantic notion that ignored the […]
People love to talk about art auctions as if they are these grand, high-stakes dramas where the elite gather to battle for cultural supremacy. They’ll hand you a glossy brochure and call it a “complete guide to art auctions,” but they rarely mention the mathematical carnage happening behind the scenes. I remember sitting in a […]
I remember sitting in my back office in 2008, nursing a lukewarm Earl Grey and staring at a contract a young painter had brought me, looking like he was handing over his firstborn child. He thought a representation agreement was a sacred, mystical bond—a sort of spiritual marriage between creator and curator. He didn’t realize […]
I remember sitting in my gallery back in 2008, watching a perfectly lovely man—someone who had worked thirty years in insurance—stare at a small, textured oil on linen, 30x30cm, 2005, and proceed to buy it with a frantic, sweating desperation that had nothing to do with the art and everything to do with a lack […]
I remember standing in my gallery back in ’98, staring at a landscape that had cost a local collector three months’ salary, only to realize the artist had completely botched the light. They’d used every expensive pigment in the tube, but because they didn’t understand the actual physics of how colour works in painting, the […]
I once stood in a client’s sunroom, staring at a landscape that cost four thousand pounds, only to realize the surface was spider-webbing into a thousand tiny, hideous cracks. The artist had been so caught up in the “soul” of the piece that they’d completely ignored the physics of the medium. People love to treat […]
I remember sitting in the back of a crowded, overheated exhibition in London, watching a seasoned collector stare at a large-scale landscape for nearly ten minutes. He wasn’t lost in the “sublime beauty” or the “emotional resonance” of the brushwork; he was simply confused. His gaze kept snagging on a muddy corner of the canvas, […]
Most people think a “complete guide to starting a collection” involves attending black-tie openings, sipping lukewarm champagne, and developing a sudden, inexplicable interest in the provenance of a post-war minimalist sculpture. They think it’s about status. It isn’t. In my twenty-six years of running a gallery, I’ve seen more collectors go broke chasing “investment grade” […]