Arts & Collections: Volume 3, 2020

arts &

COLLECTIONS www.artsandcollections.com

WINE • ART • INVESTMENT • LUXURY PROPERTY • COLLECTABLES • PHOTOGRAPHY AC0 Cover.indd 1

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Contents FEATURES

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STAR MAN

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FINE ART INTERIORS

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MANAGING UNCERTAINTY

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BOND ON THE BLOCK

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AN ART WORLD INSIDER’S VIEW OF 2020

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THE ART OF THE STEAL

A new book, David Bowie: Icon, captures the photographic legacy of the rock idol, in the work of star photographers including the legendary Terry O’Neill

How can high net worth individuals find financial services to protect them against economic uncertainties? Private banking may hold the answers

In exclusive extracts from the book A Year in the Art World, curator Matthew Israel presents his insider’s view of the way artists, gallerists, curators and critics reacted to the year’s events

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Can contemporary art be reconciled with modern interior design trends? Designer Diego Correa give us his views on how taste and function can work in harmony

With the 100th anniversary of the character James Bond approaching, we look at how auctioneers such as Sotheby’s have turned the superspy’s memorabilia into collectables

Art institutions around the world are in danger from theft and vandalism. Can technology provide a solution, and offer a lifeline to cash-strapped galleries and museums?

IMAGES © MASOYOSHI SUKITA / ICONIC, THAMES & HUDSON, SCHIMMEL; SOTHEBY’S, BREMONT, SHUTTERSTCK, HAWK CLASSIC

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COOL AND COLLECTED

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RIOT OF COLOUR

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EUROPE AFTER THE RAIN

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LIQUID HISTORY

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A FLOATING WORLD OF ART

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SAFE IN THE SUN

There’s a lot more to storing fine art safely than bubblewrap and cardboard boxes. We look at the fine art of climate controlled storage for valuables

European art logistics specialists are coping with everything from coronavirus to Brexit. We find out how multinational logistics group hasenkamp handles the most complex projects

The city of Venice has survived through the centuries to produce a magnificent legacy of art, architecture and culture. How is it facing the future?

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Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood is also an accomplished artist. We travel to Ashridge House, Hertfordshire, to see some of his most impressive and evocative work

Investment in wines and whiskies is still a sound strategy if you know your tipples. As we find out at Lindores Abbey, it’s all about history and reputation

With international uncertainty making travel problematical, where can you find a winter break that’s both relaxing and reassuringly safe? We find out in glorious Saint Lucia

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AN ARTIST IN LOCKDOWN

How does an artist react to the isolation of lockdown? We find out in the neon-lit imagination of multimedia artist Lauren Baker

CHALLENGE AND INNOVATION

Running an art gallery in these uncertain times is a challenge – even more so opening a new one. Arts & Collections talks to Serena Dunn of Grove Square about the gallery’s approach

SAVING THE CLASSICS

How can classic cars be preserved for the future? From ground-up restoration to electrification, here’s how

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THE ART OF SOUND

From a piano fit for the Death Star to a 42-string guitar and an alien violin, how musical instruments push design boundaries

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GRAND LIVING AND DRIVING

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A FASHION FOR WELLNESS

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REGULARS

What happens when a luxury car marque collaborates with a top architect to create a designer home? - find out at 130 William

Where do the rich and famous go to improve their health? From exacting diets to cryogenic treatments, we look at what luxury health spas have on offer

STREETS OF LONDON

London inspires all sorts of emotions, but for the property market, it has been and will always remain a hotspot for buying

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IT FIGURES

This issue’s most exciting events and objects summed up in handy facts and figures

EDITORIAL

With galleries and museums in lockdown again, how can we enjoy art? Perhaps the solution, and one many galleries are applying, is the public exhibition of art

HAPPENINGS

All the events, exhibitions and shows worth seeing – even if many of them are virtual – from Larry Fink at Gallery Bene Taschen in Berlin, to Ray Harryhausen at the National Galleries of Scotland

AUCTION HIGHLIGHTS

Our eclectic roundup of the most amazing items to come up for auction this season, from an amazing pink diamond to a trio of Alfa Romeo concept cars and a stunning Dali diptych

BOOK REVIEWS

From a look behind the scenes at the actor’s art, to insights into the work of Francis Bacon and Tracey Emin, with stopoffs on the American railroads and on tour with Depeche Mode

WHERE TO SPEND IT

Our roundup of must-have luxury items, from an electric motorcycle to a couture facemask, and a golden television to the best vinyl turntable the world has ever seen

IMAGES © LAUREN BAKER, DAEM, LANNOO, ANGEL DUARTE/JOSE DE LA MANO GALLERY

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PREMIUM GOLF SHOES & ACCESSORIES • The highest quality Italian leathers • Traditional European craftsmanship • Handmade for unparalleled comfort • Blending on-course performance with off-course style W W W . A L B A R T R O S S . C O M

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It Figures...

Publisher & CEO Kevin J. Harrington Editor Chris Jenkins Design Friyan Mehta Feature Writers John Renwick Harry Vincent Production Director Joanna Harrington Office Coordinator Adam Linard-Stevens

EDITORIAL OFFICE Arts & Collections Suite 2 143 Caledonian Road London N1 0SL United Kingdom Telephone: 020 7870 9090 editorial@damsonmedia.com www.damsonmedia.com CHICAGO OFFICE Arts & Collections 29 East Madison, Suite 809, Chicago, IL 60602, USA

Arts & Collections partners with over 120 of the world’s finest luxury and boutique hotels to provide the highest quality coverage of global art and cultural events, auctions of interest and developments in the global art market.

This blend of interesting and informative editorial is most appealing to guests at these premier hotels, who have a great interest in fine art and collectables.

Arts & Collections’ dedicated website, artsandcollections.com, features all of the exclusive previews, reviews and expert commentary pieces that appear in the pages of Arts & Collections as well as news of auctions by Sotheby’s and other top auction houses, plus exhibitions and popular cultural events, keeping visitors fully informed, as well as providing a comprehensive resource area for collectors and connoisseurs.

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The number of individual boroughs making up the thriving property market in London

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1947

The birth year of Rolling Stones guitarist and artist Ronnie Wood, who exhibited at Ashridge House this Autumn

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The year in which the first distilling of Aqua Vitae or whisky were recorded in Lindores Abbey in the Kingdom of Fife

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148 The top speed in mph of the Aston Martin DB5 offered for sale by RM Sotheby’s as part of the Bond on Bond Street season

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© 2021 DAMSON MEDIA

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Arts & Collections magazine is published quarterly. For further details regarding contributions and distribution email editorial@damsonmedia.com.

THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS MAGAZINE SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED OFFICIAL OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER OR EDITOR. THE PUBLISHER RESERVES THE RIGHT TO ACCEPT OR REJECT ALL EDITORIAL OR ADVERTISING MATTER. THE PUBLISHER ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS, PHOTOGRAPHS OR ARTWORK. IMAGES ARE SENT AT THE OWNERS’ RISK AND THE PUBLISHER TAKES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR LOSS.

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Cover image: David Bowie by Terry O’Neill/Iconic Images, courtesy of ACC Art Books

The millions of pounds paid for an outstanding fancy vivid purple-pink diamond, The Spirit of the Rose

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IMAGES: © SHUTTERSTOCK, BREMONT, LINDORES ABBEY, SOTHEBY’S, RM SOTHEBY’S, ICONIC IMAGES

DAMSONMEDIA

The temperature in Centigrade sometimes uses in whole-body cryogenic health therapy

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Editorial

Art en plein Air

Image: © Opera gallery

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s England, France, Germany, Italy and Greece entered renewed periods of lockdown in November, with galleries and museums again forced to close their doors, the art world faced an existential crisis.

It’s mainly about economics – even artists have to eat, and galleries have to pay wages – but there also seemed to be an element of ennui entering the response to the pandemic.

In many cases, institutions put on a brave face and mounted virtual exhibitions. Art Basel Hong Kong launched its online viewing rooms (OVRs) in March, fast-tracking digital developments that had already been in progress.

Frieze, Galleryplatform.la, Vienna Art Week and others followed suit, some with AR features making it possible to visualise artworks in your home.

But speaking to the Financial Times, Nazy Vassegh, founder of the Eye of the Collector art fair, says: “From speaking to collectors, the enthusiasm for some OVRs is dwindling. I think we still need moments of discovery in the art world, be they online or live. The auction world seems to have successfully transitioned into a global multi-centre livestream scenario.”

So is there an alternative outlet for art, one which can expose new works to the public without the need for crowded museums or galleries?

In the autumn, Opera Gallery installed three outstanding sculptures by globally-acclaimed artists Manolo Valdés, Anthony James and Seo YoungDeok (above, Seo Young-Deok, Meditation 1554, 2019) in the streets of London, and ten new monumental sculptures by Valdés in Avenue George

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V in Paris. Opera Gallery’s Federica Beretta thinks this is one way the art market can ‘go public’ during the pandemic and how galleries (and art fairs) can innovate to drive forward the ‘new normal.’

Open viewing In October, Pullman Hotels collaborated with London’s Art Night to launch Pullman Art Run, an immersive outdoor art trail in two of the UK’s most exciting and culturally rich cities, London and Liverpool (ironically, also both centres of the pandemic).

The five kilometre Art Run was designed to reveal a selection of the neighbourhood’s finest works, from street-art and iconic statues to augmented reality and bright contemporary sculptures, and was accompanied by a music playlist and podcast commentary on the ten pieces on each run.

And in November 2020, Opera Gallery collaborated with The Comité George V to install ten monumental sculptures by Manolo Valdés adorning Paris’ prestigious luxury George V Avenue until 15th January 2021.

Now, we have the hope of a vaccine, but until it is universally available, if as Opera Gallery says, “Public art is the only way to physically engage with art in a safe environment”, perhaps the open air is indeed the gallery of the future.  Chris Jenkins

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Happenings Bringing you a mix of artistic, cultural, historical and essential events as we look ahead into 2021

VIRTUAL CHATEAU In tune with the current trend for virtual online exhibitions, quarterly exhibition series The Eye of The Huntress brings together some of the hottest names in contemporary art online as bite-size capsule collections. Working with some of the most prestigious galleries in the world including Sadie Coles and Fraenkel Gallery, The Eye of The Huntress has launched with an inaugural exhibition Le Petit Trianon set inside a CGI mapped replica of an early 20th century chateau inspired by Madame De Pompadour’s 18th century manor house. Artists include Conrad Shawcross, Kate MccGwire, Katy Grannan, Jim Lambie, Lothar Gotz and Richard Patterson. The virtual exhibition runs until 20th January 2021.  www.eyeofthehuntress.com

Above: The Eye of the Huntress virtual exhibition Le Petit Trianon

TITAn of CInEmA

Below: Ray Harryhausen’s animated skeletons from Jason and the Argonauts

Running until 5th September 2021 at the National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, Ray Harryhausen: Titan of Cinema is a celebration of the animator’s life and work in what would have been his centenary year. Harryhausen, who died in 2012, was the genius behind the special effects in classic films from the 1950s to the 1980s including Clash of the Titans, Jason and the Argonauts and Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger. His Dynamation system of stop-motion animation, inspired by the work of Willis O’Brien on movies such as King Kong, brought a new form of excitement to cinema entertainment. The exhibition coincides with the publication of Ray Harryhausen: Titan of Cinema by his daughter Vanessa.  www.nationalgalleries.org

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EvEnts // collections

social butterfly Gallery Bene Taschen in Berlin presents a retrospective of the work of photographer Larry Fink from 27th January to 3rd April 2021. Larry Fink, born in 1941, devoted 65 years of his life to photography, first in New York, then in Pennsylvania. His early work such as The Vanities concentrated on celebrities, mainly at parties, while in later years he embraced the boxing ring, jazz legends and social themes. Always the silent observer on the sidelines, Fink documents precious moments of intimacy: a glance over the shoulder, a smile, an insecure gesture. In Social Graces, these works are juxtaposed with images he took of the Sabatines, a working-class family living in the rural town of Martins Creek, Pennsylvania, in a nonjudgmental picture of society’s different facets.  www.benetaschen.com

Left: Larry Fink, The Vanities: Meryl Streep and Natalie Portman LA, 2009, © Larry Fink Courtesy Galerie Bene Taschen

Horseplay Photographer Tim Flach leads the field in the Equine & Country Spirit exhibition at Gallery Eight, London from 10th December to 20th December 2020. From horses in gas masks, to polo portraits, sculptures and more, the best equine and country inspired photography, painting and sculpture will lead the field in a the exhibition, featuring Tim Flach’s extraordinary photography of horses including his signature images of horses in masks, to French minimalist artist Quibe’s poetic one line equine drawings and a maquette of British Sculptor Susan Leyland’s Poppy the War Horse. Equine & Country Spirit is The Country House & Stables’ second exhibition following last year’s show at Gallery Eight.  www.galleryeight.com

Right: Tim Flache – Mask Series Bodysuit

Welcome to lisbon

Right: Ángel Duarte Untitled, ca. 1970 José De La Mano Gallery ARCOlisboa 2020

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ARCOlisboa celebrates its fifth anniversary in 2021 at an event that will symbolise the physical reunion between the city of Lisbon and contemporary art. From 13th to 16th May, Lisbon will become one of the most attractive and interesting European art and cultural centres with the participation of galleries, collectors, curators and other professionals, institutions, museums and art centres. Over 70 domestic and international galleries will participate in ARCOlisboa 2021 to showcase the vibrant artistic scene in Portugal in dialogue with interesting portfolios from around the world. The General Programme will focus on the best content from galleries while the curated programmes include Africa en Foco.  www.ifema.es/en/arco-lisboa

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collections // events

Water Way to go Bodies of Water, the 13th Shanghai Biennale, begins its programme in November 2020 and continues to June 27th, 2021. Spanish curator, architect and writer Andres Jaque is chief curator of the event, to be held at the Power Station of Art (PSA), the venue since 2012. Launched in 1996, the Shanghai Biennale is a large-scale platform for the international presence and exchange of contemporary art. The eightmonth program will allow the artists, thinkers and curators contributing to the Biennale to develop their work in close collaboration with the institutions of the City of Shanghai.

Bodies of Water will culminate with the opening of Phase 03: An Exhibition on April 10, 2021.  www.shanghaibiennale.org Above: Shanghai’s Power Station of Art (PSA) Above: Eileen Agar Eileen Agar, 1927 Oil on canvas 765 mm x 641 mm © The estate of Eileen Agar

surrealist cubist Whitechapel Gallery’s Eileen Agar: Angel of Anarchy is a major retrospective of the work of the artist, running from 11th February – 23rd May 2021. Eileen Agar (1899-1991) synthesised elements of two of the twentieth century’s most significant artistic movements, cubism and surrealism.

This is the largest exhibition of Agar’s work to date and celebrates the crucial role she played in the development of 20th Century art. It features over 100 paintings, collages, photographs, assemblages and archive material, much of which has been rarely exhibited. Fascinated by classical art, ancient mythologies, the natural world and sexual pleasure, Agar mined these subjects and her own biography for the forms and content that filled her works.The exhibition examines her entire oeuvre, from early works bearing the influence of her classical education at The Slade School of Fine Art, including the self portrait Eileen Agar (1927) and the previously unseen painting Joseph Sleeping (1929), an intimate portrait of her partner.  www.whitechapelgallery.org

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Auction

news // collections

HIGHLIGHTS

By John Renwick

The record-breaking, the eclectic and the unique; we bring you the latest from the world’s most renowned auction houses the Doctor’s Dream Albrecht Dürer ‘s Die Versuchung des Müßiggängers (Der Traum des Doktors) (Temptation of the Idler, or The Doctor’s Dream) came up for auction at karl & Faber in Munich and realised €6,300. Depicting a demon using bellows to blow unchaste dreams into the ear of an apparently wealthy idler sitting by a stove, this copper engraving depicts the moral “idleness is the beginning of all vice”. Dürer’s monogram lies in the middle of the lower edge of the picture.  Albrecht Dürer, Die Versuchung des Müßiggängers Engraving on laid paper. (Around 1498).

18.9 x 12.1 cm (sheet size).

BatmoBiles This trio of Alfa Romeo concept cars, the B.A.T. 5, B.A.T. 7 and B.A.T. 9D are each individually among the most important automotive concepts ever built. These early 1950s masterworks, designed by Franco Scaglione and executed by Turin, italy’s carrozzeria Bertone, pioneered the art of automotive aerodynamics while reasserting the primacy of italian industrial design in the wake of world war ii. The trio realized $14.8 million – a first in Sotheby’s contemporary Art evening auction history. 

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collections // news

Action heroes Artemis Gallery of Louisville auctioned this fine pair of mouldcast brass handles used as a functional decoration for a personal ceremonial sword known as a kris (or keris), hailing from Indonesia, circa. early to mid-20th century. Both handles depict a leaning figure known as the Great Hero Bhima who wears a finely ornamented loincloth and clutches a weapon in his right hand. Each figure is accentuated with inlaid glass cabochons in hues of yellow, green, red, and blue, and the shorter handle features white glass cabochons along the headdress. The pair realised $600 at auction. 

hendricks hAze Barkley L. Hendricks (1945-2017) was a contemporary American painter who made pioneering contributions to black portraiture and conceptualism. While he worked in a variety of media and genres throughout his career (from photography to landscape painting), Hendricks’ best known work took the form of life-sized painted oil portraits of Black Americans. Last sold for $48,000 in 2010, this time Jackie Sha-La-La went up for sale at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Day auction with an estimate of $2-3m and realised $2.8m.  L. Hendricks, Jackie Sha-La-La (Jackie Cameron), 1975 Oil and acrylic on canvas, 50 by 60 in. 127 by 152.4 cm.

Salvador Dalí’s surrealist masterpiece, Couple aux Têtes Pleines de Nuages, sold for £8,171,062 at Bonhams’ Impressionist & Modern Art Sale in London. The work, which had never before been offered at auction, came from the collection of the Italian Modernist composer Giacinto Scelsi.

Dalí created the piece in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War and at the height of his surrealist period.

It depicts Dalí and his wife Gala formed by the outlines of the frames. The panels of the diptych feature a desert landscape that appears to merge into a single larger painting. Classic surrealist motifs – scattered rocks, a disfigured tree, indistinct human figures, a girl skipping, a giraffe on fire, populate the scene. A related diptych is now permanently exhibited in the Boijmans van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam.

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IMAGES: © kArl & fAbEr, ArtEMIS GAllEry, SothEby’S, EdElwEISS

out of their heAds

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news // collections

Our series highlights a single item Of artistry Or craftsmanship that is bOth rare and exquisite

Time and place The Rolex manual winding, 17-jewel ‘Paul Newman’ Daytona with white ‘Panda’ dial carries with it many fascinating stories of its creation and path to fame associated with the world-renowned Daytona 24hour endurance race and actor Paul Newman who featured it in several of his films.This Reference 6263 bearing the rare ‘Paul Newman Panda mark 1.5’ dial is certainly considered the holy grail of watches. With an estimate of up to £420,000 it sold for £312,600 at Sotheby’s Geneva Masterworks of Time. 

Treasures

Fancy vivid Sotheby’s in Geneva presented this magnificent 14.83 carat Fancy Vivid Purple-Pink, Internally Flawless, Type IIa diamond named The Spirit of the Rose after Vaslav Nijinsky’s legendary ballet, Le Spectre de la Rose. The diamond was mined, cut and polished in Russia, and it is the largest Purple-Pink diamond to ever appear at auction. The stone was cut from the largest pink crystal ever mined in Russia, the 27.85-carat called the Nijinsky, a nod to the legendary dancer. The record for a pink diamond sold at auction was held by the CTF Pink Star, which was auctioned at Sotheby’s Hong Kong in April 2017 for $71.2 million USD. With an estimate of up to £28m, the Spirit of the Rose diamond reached 24,393,000 CHF, or around £20,266,000. 

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T

he Solis from UK-based piano makers Edelweiss is a oneoff musical work of art which has just been delivered to its new home in California. Designed and created by the revolutionary Goldfinch by Edelweiss Pianos, a Cambridge-based piano maker known for its outstanding piano designs, the concept of the Solis is based on the setting sun and the wonderful Californian landscapes surrounding its new home.

Edelweiss has its roots firmly embedded in the piano industry.

Launched in 2008 by the team behind 1066 Pianos, Edelweiss has remained in Cambridge and built its production facility there.

A completely bespoke creation from the Creative Lead and Company Founder of Edelweiss, Mark Norman, Solis is the latest in a series of one-off designs created uniquely for the buyer’s homes, with their use, décor and requirements in mind.

Mark specified two unique finishes that reflect the subject perfectly. A real metal finish known as Heirloom Bronze is cold to touch, beautifully brought to life with sensitive patination and aging, complimented by the Sunbaked Gold, genuine 23.5 carat gold leaf overlaying a tastefully crafted three-dimensional metal substrate, creating an inimitable golden gleam.

For those with budgets that can afford Goldfinch by Edelweiss, they offer the most futuristic and flamboyant piano creations available to date, while the Edelweiss Collection, currently on display in Harrods, Knightsbridge and online, includes the most popular piano styles in seasonal colours, with a choice of veneers, colour contrasts and styles, and optional self-play functions installed seamlessly in the structure. www.edelweisspianos.com

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COver stOry // DaviD Bowie

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DaviD Bowie // COver stOry

David Bowie’s image was as much a part of his art as was his music. In a luxurious new book, photographers including Terry O’Neill capture images of the rock icon

By ChrIs JeNkINs

IMAGES © MASoyoShI SukItA © JAnEt MAcoSkA/IconIc IMAGES/ courtESy of Acc Art bookS

M

any of us will have experienced a ‘WTF?!’ moment on first seeing David Bowie performing on Top of the Pops in 1972. In his Ziggy stardust persona, eyebrows shaved and perversely androgynous, he seemed to be not only a new thing, but also different in a way few performers could claim to be.

But novel though his appearance was, he proved to be no artistic flash in the pan. Arguably the first musical artist to constantly reinvent himself though revising his image, Bowie proved to be as much a visual icon of the 70s, 80s and 90s as he was a musical innovator.

Now, all that glam has been captured in a spectacular book published by ACC Art Books.

David Bowie: Icon, edited by Iconic Images and with an introduction by Bowie’s long-time friend and collaborator George Underwood, collects the work of 25 photographers who captured Bowie at his mercurial best, from obscurity to megastardom.

The most significant collection of David Bowie images ever assembled, this luxurious opus is published to coincide with the fifth anniversary of Bowie’s death. It captures everything from studio portraits and live performances by top photographers, to images from marketing campaigns, online promotions and events such as on-stage Q&As and book signings.

Private moments The images are accompanied by personal essays and reflections about working with this astonishing artist, from memories of the earliest days at the Arts Lab in Beckenham to what it was like touring the world with Bowie. rarely seen private moments and

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candid snapshots make this collection at once powerful, sentimental and inspiring.

Among the contributors to the photography and text are Fernando Aceves, Brian Aris, Philippe Auliac, Justin de Villeneuve, Vernon Dewhurst, Geoff MacCormack, Janet Macoska, Terry O’Neill, Denis O’regan, Norman Parkinson, Mick rock, steve schapiro, Barry schultz, and Masayoshi sukita.

But it’s Bowie’s school friend and longtime collaborator George Underwood who can take responsibility for one of the Thin White Duke’s most notable features, his dilated pupil. As 15-year-old boys, who had known each other since joining Cub

David Bowie captured in studio and on stage

by Masayoshi sukita (left) and Janet Macoska (above) from the book David Bowie: Icon

scouts in kent, the pair came to blows over a girl in a disagreement which had a long-lasting legacy. Underwood said in an interview: “I was so aggrieved I walked over to him, basically, turned him around and went ‘whack’ without even thinking.”

Bowie’ aniscoria – permanent dilation of the pupil – was the result. It didn’t stop the two staying friends, and indeed when George Underwood became an artist he designed the record sleeves for Hunky Dory and The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

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COver stOry // DaviD Bowie

Remembering Terry O’Neill

O

ne of the most notable contributors to David Bowie: Icon is Terry O’Neill, who died in 2019. After working with Bowie in the ‘70s and ‘80s, he says in the book: “It was decades later, in the 1990s, that I received a call from an old friend. David wanted to know if I was available to take some straight-ahead portraits for a magazine interview. I hadn’t seen him in years and was surprised when he walked into the room.

“Yes, we were both much older, it was a bit more than twenty years in fact since the first time we had met at the Marquee. He looked terrific – still tall, a bit lanky, but no longer a pale boy. The person in front of me was now an award-winning musician, actor, activist and had lived through, thrived and survived those heady days of the 1970s. He was really at ease with himself. This wasn’t a character this time, no tricks to hide behind; this was just David, and he was happy with that.”

The work of Terry O’Neill was itself celebrated in a selling exhibition at Sotheby’s in November; Terry O’Neill: 60 Years of Iconic Portraits.

O’Neill photographed the frontline of fame for over six decades. A World War II baby, he began his career at the birth of the 1960s, chronicling the emerging faces of film, fashion, art and music, those who would go on to define the Swinging Sixties and beyond.

No other photographer has embraced the span of fame, capturing the icons of our age from Winston Churchill to Nelson Mandela, Frank Sinatra to the Beatles, and Audrey Hepburn to Amy Winehouse. The Sotheby’s collection showcased 26 seminal images, charting O’Neill’s legendary career.

Jackie Gunn, Director Sales & Exhibitions for Iconic Images, said: “Iconic Images is honoured to work with Sotheby’s to bring together the largest collection of works by the late Terry O’Neill CBE for the first time in the UK since he sadly passed away last year.

The prints on offer, sourced directly from the

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artist’s archive, show the breadth and depth of Terry’s career which spanned over sixty years.

“It is an all-star line-up from his archive covering music, film, fashion and politics, including the debut of one of O’Neill’s most famous and sought-after work, Frank Sinatra, Miami Boardwalk 1968 as a platinum 30”x40” print. This edition was one of the last that Terry signed in 2019. He was immensely proud of this photograph and would have been delighted to see it offered for the first time with an institution as august and steeped in history as Sotheby’s.”

IMAGES © IconIc IMAGES / TErry o’nEIll

Legendary

Diamond Dog: Terry O’Neill’s image from the ACC Arts book David Bowie: Icon

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COVER STORY // DAVID BOWIE

Also available are limited editions of David Bowie: Icon including this one with a print by Justin de Villeneuve

An early portrait of David Bowie by Gerald Fearnley, © Iconic Images / Gerald Fearnley

ROCK’N’ROLL Mick Rock it was who captured some of the most iconic images of Bowie, including behind-the-scenes moments with Iggy Pop and Lou Reed. A writer and film-maker as well as a photographer, Rock’s work has been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide. He says of Bowie: “I experienced David Bowie above all as a piece of living artwork, constantly modulating and mutating like a series of startling reflections in a cracked mirror. He was fascinating: Ziggy Stardust was a new breed of rock ’n’ roll operative, a rogue hitman with his own agenda, a postmodern heartthrob with destiny on his mind,

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a dreamer of Dada with glitter in his soul. He was the Scarlet Pimpernel in fabulous drag.

He was what the times needed and a whole lot more.”

Another long-lasting collaborator was Masayoshi Sukita, who came to London in 1972 with the intention of photographing T-Rex’s Marc Bolan, and ended up working with Bowie over 40 years. He says: “It started in 1972 in London. After that, in 1973 I shot him in New York and met him in Tokyo later that year when he arrived for his first Japanese tour. In 1977 David Bowie came to Tokyo again, with Iggy Pop. They asked me to take photographs in a quick, hour-long session but I didn’t know at the time that the shoot would end up on David Bowie’s album cover

of Heroes. It was a very private session that I’ll always remember.

“I shot him in 2009 when I took his last official portrait. Whatever was happening to David in his personal life, he never showed it in front of the camera. His strength and humility always shone through in images, that was the bottom line, and it’s something that I will always remember.”

David Bowie: Icon is available from ACC Art Books in hardback at £50. See www. davidbowieicon.com for 20 limited editions packaged in a slipcase with certificate of authenticity and print hand-signed by photographers including Mick Rock, Lynn Goldsmith and Sukita. 

IMAGES © ICONIC IMAGES / GERALD FEARNLEY

George Underwood says in David Bowie: Icon: “There are no photos of us as young teenagers strutting along Bromley High Street trying to impress any of the girls that happened to be passing. We were so bloody vain. Not many people took photos in those days. There’s very few around…. David had decided that whatever he was doing, he wanted to look good while he was doing it.

He certainly succeeded. Photographers loved him. He would surprise them with his outfits, his hairstyle, his expressions. I was lucky enough to be invited onto the 1972 ‘Ziggy’ tour of America. That was a visual banquet if ever there was one. Seeing Mick Rock in action was quite extraordinary...”

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03/12/2020 16:39

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03/12/2020 13:53

Peter Paul Rubens, “Portrait of Clara Serena Rubens,” c. 1616 © LIECHTENSTEIN. The Princely Collections, Vaduz–Vienna

VALUES WORTH SHARING

“Passionate about quality – we bought our first Rubens in 1643.”

H.S.H. Prince Philipp von und zu Liechtenstein, LGT Chairman since 1990

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15/09/2020 16:02

Private Banking // COLLECTIONS

Managing Uncertainty

In an uncertain economic climate, can private banking help to cope with market volatility?

By ChrIs JenkIns

IMAGES © ShuttErStock

U

ncertainty seems to be the keynote of the current economic climate.

With the coronavirus pandemic wreaking havoc with economies worldwide, Brexit sounding an unsettling note and political instability in America causing further confusion, it’s hard to know where to look for a steadying influence.

The transition away from formerly reliable markets such as oil towards relative unknowns like sustainable energy makes it harder to predict the future. new economic tools such as carbon footprinting are emerging to show the potential risk lurking in investment portfolios.

But for high net worth individuals, private banking and wealth management remain attractive options. What is it about these services that can help investors find reliable long-term investment strategies that can prepare for the challenges of the future?

While many consumer banks have private banking divisions, in most cases, a private bank

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will set a minimum cash figure for a deposit in order to retain its services. These can include investment advice, taking into account the entire financial circumstances of the client, and aimed at protecting and maintaining these valuable assets.

Individualised financial solutions can include saving and planning for retirement and putting in place structures for passing on accumulated wealth to beneficiaries.

Personalised The advantages of offering private service to the banks are obvious – they can make a profit on assets under management, charge generously for services such as loans and mortgages, and acquire desirable clientele through the recommendations and regular business transactions of their hnWI clients.

Private banking clients can normally rely on a ‘concierge-like’ service, with contact with named experts and no delays in regular forms

of financial transaction such as fund transfers.

A wealth management advisor can discuss goals and risk levels with a client and can compose an investment strategy including the types of bank account used, but cannot normally open bank accounts or offer the same individualised services that private banks do.

Of course, private banking, as its name suggest, has the advantage of offering a high degree of privacy, up to the point of anonymity; and private customers are commonly offered discounted or preferential pricing on products and services such as mortgages, specialised loans, or lines of credit. savings or money market accounts might generate higher interest rates and be free of fees and overdraft charges, and customers operating import-export businesses may receive more favourable foreign exchange rates on their transactions.

For all these reasons, private banking offers a level of certainly which can sound a reassuring note in an uncertain economic environment.

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03/12/2020 16:42

COLLECTIONS // ART WORLD

An Art Insider’s View of 2020

In these exclusive extracts from his book A Year in the Art World, Matthew Israel comments on a journey through the contemporary art world, uncovering the working lives of artists, curators, gallerists and critics

By ChrIs JenkIns

Fabrication “Like a lot of sculpture fabrication enterprises, standard has grown progressively and iteratively from basic beginnings. standar’s Chris Grant explains, ‘When I started out, I had no technology – no tools really. I had hand tools and wrenches, and screwdrivers, scales, and I could make moulds [and] I had a lot of studio stuff, but I didn’t have [any major] equipment [that could] weld really thick metal, for example. so, we were a kind of low technology company,’ he says, jokingly. But

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“

It’s not just about putting on a show and seeing what happens. Hope is not a strategy, put it that way – Adam Sheffer

“

B

ased in new york, former head curator of Artsy, Matthew Israel has written three books: Kill for Peace: American Artists Against the Vietnam War, The Big Picture: Contemporary Art in 10 Works by 10 Artists, and the forthcoming A Year in the Art World: An Insider’s View, published by Thames & hudson.

In A Year in the Art World, Israel analyses a pre-COVID art market, considering everything from the challenges of art fabrication, to the infamous banana duct-taped to a wall by artist Maurizio Cattelan.

In Los Angeles, Israel visits fabricators who help artists such as Taryn simon realise their large-scale visions. he writes: “standard sculpture is very much a producer-fabricator, and is one of the most respected fabricating firms on the West Coast. since opening in 2010, they have worked with many famous contemporary artists, including Jeff koons, yayoi kusama and sterling ruby. They have also worked with world-renowned museums and galleries including the Broad, The Whitney Museum of American Art, Centre Georges Pompidou, Gagosian, Maccarone and David Zwirner.

this aspect became an advantage for them, meaning they had to be ‘pliable, depending on what type of project we were dealing with.’ “‘In one case,’ Grant says, ‘we were assisting Jeff koons with a polyethylene project – so we became experts in tooling and forming polyethylene.’ As a result of jobs like this, he explains, ‘we’re constantly trying to find ways to do stuff. Today I have projects in aluminium and stainless steel, and next week it could be anything.’” speaking to former President of the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA), Adam sheffer, Israel asks how galleries can compete in an increasingly crowded market – there are over 17,000 contemporary art galleries worldwide. In addition to having a their own distinct point of view, “Marketing is also key, according to sheffer. It’s not just about putting on a show and seeing what happens. ‘hope is not a strategy, put it that way.’ “sheffer works closely with his marketing team, his photography department, the person writing the press release or the catalogue to tell a story about the work. ‘Why are we showing it? What does it mean? how does it affect the world? how is this different than things that we’ve seen before? There’s got to be a

message associated with it. Otherwise you haven’t quite packaged it properly,’ he says.”

In new york City, Israel visits the school of Visual Arts (sVA) and asks curator and art critic steven henry Madoff, author of Art school: Propositions for the 20th Century, about the future of art education.

crisis “‘If anything, the crisis is cost for students and their subsequent level of debt, which is an issue for all American schools. And there’s the hanging question concerning Chinese students in particular – as once again the situation for all American schools, and european art schools as well, is that it may not always be the case that great numbers of Chinese students will come, as they have been for several years. If for political or economic reasons that changes, this will have a powerful impact on the revenue and staffing of our art schools.”

And in Paris, speaking to art advisor Marta Gnyp, Israel asks about the difference in approach between American and european art collectors. “For major old-style european collectors, the idea of art advisors ‘is almost hideous because why would someone else bring works to your attention? [The assumption is] why can you not do it yourself?’

But with the expansion of the art world, with some ‘hundreds of thousands of new and rediscovered artists, which is fierce’, she says, ‘it’s become very important to not do it yourself...so, the art advisor, especially if you have an ambitious collection, makes sense.’  Extracted from A YEAR IN THE ART WORLD: An Insider’s View by Matthew Israel, published by Thames & Hudson in hardback at £19.95

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03/12/2020 16:44

ART WORLD // COLLECTIONS

(Above) The jacket of A Year in the Art World (Thames and Hudson), featuring Maurizio Cattelan’s notorious Comedian (Left) Matthew Israel, writer and curator (Below left) XRF pigment analysis at the Conservation Center of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, 2016. N.L. Roberts, courtesy The Institute of Fine Arts, New York

IMAGES ©MAtthEw ISrAEl/thoMAS loof/tAryn SIMon/thAMES & hudSon

(Below right) Taryn Simon, Memorandum of Understanding..., 2014, from Paperwork and the Will of Capital, 2016 © Taryn Simon. Image courtesy of the artist

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03/12/2020 16:44

COLLECTIONS // INTERIORS

A KAleidoscopic RelAtion How is the appreciation of art shaped by interior design?

We ask an expert to explain his approach

O

ne of the most important things I have learned in regard to the understanding of art is a comment made by an art curator friend, who said: “Diego, in art there is such thing as multiplying by zero.”

He explained: when art works are being displayed in a room, if you place them incorrectly, for example a very strong work by the side of a subtle one, or two very bold pieces too close to each other, it will be very difficult if not impossible to appreciate them; the tension will be too strong between both pieces, hence each of them will annul the other: Multiplied by Zero.

Since then, when working with artworks either in a gallery, residence or in a public space this awareness has helped me to be

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attentive to what the artwork tries to say and how the setting can help to allow and enhance that communication between “it” and the viewer. That “setting” in a home is its interior design.

The first step is to understand the relation of the owner with art: is it decorative? Is it an intellectual/passionate relation with its meaning and expression? Is it pride for the having of many pieces accumulated? Or is it the display of a well-shaped collection?

DIMENSIONS All reasons are valid, but each demands a different approach to positioning. Other important aspects are dimensions, theme, technique, fragility and very importantly the

story you want to tell, not just about your artwork but about yourself too.

Interior design generates a visual, intellectual and emotional response in occupants and visitors - it becomes the frame in which the art work will sit, telling its own story with comfort and freedom.

If you are lucky enough to have Monet’s waterlilies or a Rothko (let’s dream!) you want to be able to immerse yourself in the expansion these artworks offer you - one of beauty and nature, the other of eternity - so the position chosen for them has to be one that allows contemplation, that removes distractions, with the right lighting and space from which you can imagine, think and feel.

Art helps us to appreciate the tangible and intangible from different perspectives, allowing us to expand our horizons while we enjoy it visually; interior design has the duty to understand this, incorporating them wisely, thoroughly and sensitively in the design scheme and flow of the space. The art lover should not allow interior design to become the zero multiplying factor. 

IMAGES © Enzo MErcEdES/dIEGo corrEA dESIGn

By DIegO cORReA

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03/12/2020 16:48

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04/12/2020 10:21

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12/10/2020 15:29

Bond

Sotheby’S bond // COLLECTIONS

on the Block With the sad death of Sir Sean Connery, and the 100th anniversary of James Bond coming up, the character has never been more in the spotlight, or under the hammer

By ChriS JenkinS

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COLLECTIONS // Sotheby’S bond

Bondmania Sotheby’s celebrated Bondmania in November with a series of auctions; A Collection of Books and Manuscripts, The Property of a Gentleman; James Bond Film Posters; and Watches Weekly - James Bond – not to mention the sale of an Aston Martin DB5, the car still most associated with 007.

The association between Sotheby’s and James Bond of course goes back a long way. In Ian Fleming’s specially-commissioned 1963 short story, The Property of a Lady, Bond visits Sotheby’s in New Bond Street with a view to flushing out a top Soviet agent during the auction of a Fabergé masterpiece.

Writer Ian Fleming and his wife Ann were friends of Lady Aline Berlin, whose son Michel Strauss set up Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art department in London. Through this connection, Michel Strauss asked Ian Fleming if he would contribute a story to the 1963 edition of Sotheby’s yearbook, The Ivory Hammer. He didn’t take much persuading; during the Second World War, Fleming had served beside Sotheby’s chairman Peter Wilson in British Intelligence, and in deed Wilson features as a character in Property of a Lady.

(Below) A First Edition of Casino Royale from Sotheby’s Books and Manuscripts auction (Bottom) A British quad poster for Dr No offered for auction by Ewbank’s

buffs, and those to whom Bond’s sense of style and élan are perhaps a reminder of forgotten days.

In Sotheby’s auction James Bond: A Collection of Books and Manuscripts, The Property of a Gentleman, the gentleman in question was Ian Fleming: the books presented were remarkable not just for their rarity, but for their biographical narrative of Fleming’s life. They included his 1918 copy of Boy’s Own Journal, his 1948 manual of journalism for Kemsley Newspapers, and Bond novels inscribed to friends and colleagues including Bobby Kennedy and Winston Churchill.

The James Bond Film Posters event was equally colourful, arguably moreso as it featured much work by the largely unheralded poster artist Robert MGinnis. The American’s spectacular montage artwork for movies is typical of blockbusters of the 60s and 70s, and rapidly becoming sough-after.

The original Robert McGinnis artwork for the poster of You Only Live Twice (1967) sold for a hammer price of $65,000 at Bonhams in Los Angeles in 2019.

Sotheby’s auction featured almost 200 original film posters, photographs and promotional material dedicated to Britain’s most renowned fictional secret service agent, spanning 60 years and covering all

IMAGES © SothEby’S, EwbAnk’S, ShuttErStock

S

ir Sean Connery’s sad death in October 2020 reminded us all that the character of James Bond remains as entertaining, controversial and stylish as ever. With the 100th anniversary of Ian Fleming’s superspy in sight, moviegoers and auctioneers alike seem to have an endless enthusiasm for all things 007.

While we wait – and wait, and wait – for the 21st James Bond movie No Time to Die to finally make it into COVID-blasted cinema chains, we’re reminded that long before Daniel Craig’s fun-free interpretation of the character, there were colourful, sexy, entertaining Bonds that embraced contemporary trends, fashions and lifestyles. In everything from gentlemen’s couture to accessories and cars, James Bond has always been the man other men want to be, and women want to be with.

First Editions Ian Fleming and his wife certainly felt at home in the art world – among their friends were Francis Bacon, Cecil Beaton and Lucian Freud, who painted Ann’s portrait.

Nowadays, Bond memorabilia regularly appears in auctions, attracting both movie

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www.artsandcollections.com

03/12/2020 16:51

Sotheby’S bond // COLLECTIONS

(Above) The Rolex Reference 1016 from Sotheby’s Watches Weekly - James Bond (Right) Aston Martin DB5 offered by RM Sotheby’s at the Bond on Bond Street exhibition

twenty-five films in this highest-grossing film series of all time.

Highights included British, American French and Russian posters for the early Sean Connery films including Dr No, Thunderball and From Russia With Love, with estimates from around £4,000 to £25,000; brand tie-in posters for Voit, Aston Martin, Glastron Boats and Guinness; transparencies, lobby cards, magazines and even Roger Moore’s director’s chair, signed by the great man himself, as well as a roster of Bond girls.

Watch out The connection between James Bond and desirable watches of course dates back all the way to Ian Fleming’s first Bond novel, Casino Royale, in which he wears a Rolex, the model of which has been the subject of debate.

Fleming himself wore a Rolex Reference 1016, one of which appeared in Sotheby’s Watches Weekly | James Bond auction in November along with Explorer and Zenith models.

Throughout the movie series, Bond has also been seen wearing Omega watches, and the auction included a Speedmaster Alaska Project stainless steel chronograph wristwatch circa 2008 with an estimate of £8,000.

Highlight of Sotheby’s James Bond season, though, was inevitably the 1964 Aston Martin DB5 offered for private sale by RM Sotheby’s.

Chassis 1591 rolled off the production line

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at Newport Pagnell and was delivered to Brooklands on the 21st May 1964, finished in Sierra Blue over Grey Connolly leather, unlike James Bond’s Silver Birch model. This DB5, though, had all the luxuries - the new 4.0 litre engine, triple SU carburettors, a ZF five-speed gearbox and all-round Girling disc brakes, producing 282bhp and a top speed of 148 mph. Air conditioning and electric windows contributed to comfort.

In single ownership for 42 years between 1971–2013, the DB5 has undergone an extensive two-year nut and bolt restoration with Tudor and Black, benefitting from factory approved upgraded suspension, fully renewed brakes, electric power steering, and a bare shell respray in handsome California Sage.

NetWork Sotheby’s wasn’t the only auction house to succumb to Bond fever in November, with Ewbank’s auctions of James Bond memorabilia, aptly titled A Time To Buy, offering a British Quad poster for Dr No estimated at £6-9,000 which sold for £22,000, and other posters and memorabilia reaching ten times their estimate.

Ewbank’s Bond specialist Alastair McCrea

is in regular contact with a network of influential collectors seeking rare film posters, props and costumes associated with the long-lasting series of films that now stretch back almost 60 years. His hints for collectors including looking for Sean Connery era memorabilia, which is always the most prized, and sticking to authentic pieces rather than replicas.

Juliens’s Auctions of Los Angeles heated up the action a little with its Icons & Idols auction, offering the Walther PP handgun used by Sean Connery as James Bond in 1962’s Dr. No. The deactivated handgun was one of two props employed in the film, identified by the original film armorer, BAPTY in the UK, who had it until 2006. Its estimate was $150,000 to $200,000.

But the ultimate James Bond collectable, now on offer from estate agents Knight Frank, must be Sean Connery’s luxurious villa outside Nice, where he lived in the 1980s and 90s. The 1920’s seafront mansion boasts magnificent sea views, 24-acre grounds and two guest houses.

Featuring in the 1983 Bond movie Never Say Never Again, the villa is on sale for £25m - the sort of money that might make even Goldfinger think twice. 

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03/12/2020 16:51

COLLECTIONS // FINE ART SECURITY

The Art of the STEAL

IMAGES © SHUTTERSTOCK

How can art institutions and private collectors secure their treasures from theft and vandalism? Now there’s the technology to provide a brilliantly simple solution

By Harry viNceNt

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www.artsandcollections.com

04/12/2020 10:00

Fine Art Security // COLLECTIONS

I

n October 2020, Congolese activist Emery Mwazulu Diyabanza removed an 18th Century Indonesian figure of a guardian spirit from its plinth in the Pavillon des Sessions, an area of the Louvre museum where the Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac museum collection is exhibited. He didn’t get far – a visitor tried to apprehend him, and he was then nabbed by security guards.

The incident might not have made the headlines, but Diyabanza’s actions were captured on video. He is seen removing the object from its plinth, saying: “I came here to take back what was stolen and plundered from us… to take back what was pillaged from Africa.”

But this wasn’t Diyabanza’s first offence – a month before he had been fined €1,000 for trying to seize an African funeral pole from the Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac, describing his actions as a protest against colonial looting. He was also arrested in Marseilles on 30 July for attempting to take an ivory object from the Musée des Arts Africains, Océaniens, Améridiens, and has now been banned from entering any museum.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of his actions - he and other defendants are members of a pan-African group, Unité Dignité Courage, which strives for the “liberation and transformation of Africa” and the restitution of African heritage – the question arises whether art galleries and museums shouldn’t be taking better care of their precious things.

everything from armed guards to elaborate nets of laser beams.

Certainly it looks like many institutions and private collectors could do a lot more to protect their goodies, and the technology is there to do it without enormous cost or elaborate installations.

The key is RFID (radio frequency identification), a technology commonly used everywhere from supermarkets to pet tagging.

Passive RFID, using unpowered tags, is limited in range and application, but active RFID using battery-powered tags has much wider applications, as for instance it doesn’t require line-of-sight to a detector unit.

The use of this sort of technology addresses one of the other current concerns of art institutions - operating expenses. Rather than having guards in every room, spending most of their time doing nothing, RFID allows staff to be reduced to perhaps one for every three or four rooms - an attractive prospect for cash-strapped institutions.

So how does it work? Bart Miller from Fortecho Solutions explains: “Fortecho’s RFID technology enables artworks and their locations to be monitored discretely 24/7 in real-time for theft, damage, and dangerous environmental change.

“It’s designed to be fully integrated with existing security infrastructures including CCTV, SMS, VMS, digital mobile radio and intruder detection systems, and is suitable for museums, galleries, places of worship,

temporary exhibitions, offices, art fairs and private collections.”

Fortecho, which is the preferred supplier for major insurance houses Chubb, Axa XL, and Marsh both in the UK and the USA, will tailor a solution directly to the client’s needs. Individual artworks can be fitted with almost invisible slimline sensors sensitive to movement, light or environmental changes, and plinths can be fitted with pressure sensors, all communicating with an ethernetconnected data reader.

aleRts Easy to install using specially formulated harmless adhesives, the RFID sensors are equipped with long-life batteries which can last for 10 years. Active 24 hours a day, they can transmit a global status report every 30 seconds. They are sensitive enough to tell the difference between allowable contact and an attempted theft, and can be reprogrammed remotely to minimise requirement for contact.

Fortecho’s controlling software is hosted discreetly on a PC hidden behind the scenes, and the technology can be tied in with other systems, such as alarms, CCTV, motion detectors and infrared sensors.

So are these technological solutions effective? As clients from the British Museum to the Guggenheim Bilbao will testify, there has never been a successful theft of any artwork secured by Fortecho. Spider-Man, your days are numbered... 

Ransom Since 1473, when Polish pirates grabbed The Last Judgment, a triptych by Hans Memling, during a journey to Florence, there has been a long tradition of stealing art, either for its own sake or for ransom.

In 1911, an Italian employee of the Louvre stole Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa by slipping it under his jacket, and In 1961, a bus driver pinched Goya’s Portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery after climbing in through a toilet window.

In 2017, an audacious thief known as ‘Spider-Man’ was jailed in Paris for stealing a Matisse, a Picasso, a Braque, a Léger and a Modigliani from the Musée d’Art Moderne, also after breaking in through a window.

This list of audacious, and in some cases very easy thefts goes on and on, despite the fact that it seems that in every Hollywood art heist movie, artefacts are protected by

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03/12/2020 17:57

STATE OF THE ART PROTECTION TECHNOLOGY

FORTECHO.COM Fortecho Solutions.indd 1

04/12/2020 10:32

Fortecho Solutions works with leading private collectors, museums and foundations to safeguard their art and assets from theft +environmental damage.

“Discrete, flexible and effective - there’s no better solution on the market.”

Spencer Ewen | Art Advisor GurrJohns Inc.

“Azur is pleased to recommend the Fortecho solution: it offers a valuable addition to the security we can offer to our high end clients, in particular those looking to protect expensive valuables such as paintings and sculptures.”

Kate Scott | Manager Azur Underwriting

FortechoTM protects artworks at object-level 24/7.

The system is designed with the real-world in mind - where doors slam, children exist and people live with their art - no false alarms and a decade long battery life on all sensors.

In the event of a dangerous change in the surrounding microclimate or unauthorised movement, Fortecho immediately alerts the right people.

No wonder Fortecho Solutions is the preferred supplier to the major art insurers.

FORTE CHO .C O M +44 (0)20 7736 3330 | info@fortecho.com

Fortecho integrates with CCTV • Intruder Alarms • PSIM • BMS • Radios • Pagers • Email • SMS

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04/12/2020 10:32

COLLECTIONS // Art Logistics

Cool and collected There’s a lot more to storing fine art safely than bubblewrap and boxes.

We look at the fine art of climate controlled storage By harry vincenT

M

any collectors of fine art, wine, haute couture or objets, face the problem of how to store their possessions safely. you can’t have all your paintings hung on your walls all the time, and even the biggest walk-in wardrobe might not be big enough for several seasons worth of fashion must-haves.

The art of protecting valuables lies in climate control; making sure that temperature, humidity and light are at just the right levels to protect the items and cause no long-term damage. it is possible to build such climatecontrolled facilities in your own home, but in many cases, an attic or basement isn’t suitable - for instance any exterior wall can cause problems, and it may not be possible to prevent unwanted airflows or dust ingress.

So in many cases the best solution is an off-site secure storage facility with complete environmental control.

Condition

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it be kept at constant temperature between 50 and 59 °F (10 and 15 °c). This may be different again for, say, furniture or musical instruments.

While this sort of secure environmentally controlled storage will keep your possessions safe, what if you need occasional access to your collection, such as for potential sale viewings? rather than being locked away in a vault, you can opt for private room storage, where you can arrange viewings of your items in dedicated areas, whether for cataloguing and photography or for viewing for sale.

With this sort of private storage you can even opt for online inventory reporting, in

Jagers in de Sneeuw (hunters in the Snow) Pieter Bruegel the elder, 1565 Kunsthistorisches Museum, vienna, austria.

some cases extending to monitoring of items while they are in transit in containers, so you don’t lose sight of your precious assets even while they are on the move.

Of course these services come with the level of data security you would expect for management of assets of this kind of value, so you can be assured that both your valuables and your information are cool and collected. 

IMAGES © ShuttErStock

Once inventoried with photographs, items for storage should be sealed in crates according to type, with special provision for delicate antiques. The storage facility will keep items in the best conditions for their type – for instance, fabrics need to be kept somewhere clean, dark, cool, and moderately dry, with a constant temperature and relative humidity, whereas it’s generally thought that paintings should be stored at room temperature, between 60F and 80F (16c - 26c), and with a humidity of 40-50 percent.

Wine of course, must avoid any extremes of temperature - most experts, such as Jancis robinson, recommend that

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03/12/2020 17:13

High Value Secure Storage for fine art, sculptures and antiques Each Art Unique provide the highest quality secure art storage solutions for our customers in the art and antiques trade across the UK and worldwide.

From galleries and museums, to private collectors and auction houses.

Email: info@eachartunique.co.uk

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Our storage rooms are temperature and humidity controlled, individually alarmed and fully monitored. Together with in house case making and packing facilities, our shipping department offer worldwide and UK transportation.

Telephone: 0800 030 6048

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03/12/2020 14:02

COLLECTIONS // Art logistics

EuropE After the Rain

Doing business during lockdown must sometimes seem like negotiating the wastelands of Max Ernst’s famous post-apocalyptic painting. So how do logistics experts keep art moving?

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challenging enough business at the best of times, art logistics, the practice of moving and storing valuable art and artefacts safely, has become an even more complex undertaking in these days of coronavirus, Brexit and economic uncertainty.

So how have European logistics specialists adapted? hans-Ewald Schneider, one of the owners of international art logistics specialists hasenkamp group, says : “the impact of the coronavirus on art logistics and storage has to be judged differently. transport, especially international transport, is of course very much related to the airline industry. Due to the reduction in flights and therefore available capacity, airfreight charges have gone up and continue to fluctuate. But overall one can say that we still offer our airport services, and guarantee the same high security level as before the crisis.” “the storage facilities remain the same, and collectors should be looking for financially solid companies, with a good reputation who are offering high standards. if this is

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guaranteed then there should be no risk for storage items.”

Frans Kortmann of netherlands-based Kortmann art Packers & Shippers, a member of the hasenkamp group, adds: “the art world has shown its resilience and found ways to adapt to the current situation around covid-19 with online auctions and, where possible, online fairs”.

DEMAND the hasenkamp group has seen a resurgence in demand for art transport after a decline earlier in 2020, and expects demand to continue to rise into 2021.

Most fine art is flown from and to Europe through Luxembourg, amsterdam, Frankfurt, Munich, Brussels and Liege - all locations where the hasenkamp group has offices located in close proximity to the airport. With weekly shuttles to hubs such as Paris, London and Basel/Zurich, fine art can be distributed at low costs in a short time frame. though coronavirus has had a major impact on the exhibitions business, the hasenkamp

group has experienced steady demand for storage from private collectors and logistic projects with postponed timelines.

With its headquarters located in cologne and 37 branches worldwide, the hasenkamp group can manage complex movements both domestically and worldwide. its trained and certified employees are engaged with movement of paintings, sculptures, installations and cultural assets of all kinds.

One of the hasenkamp group’s most complex projects in progress since 2017 is the transportation of sensitive objects from Berlin’s Ethnological Museum and Museum of asian art to the humboldt Forum in BerlinMitte, with an expected completion in 2021. this project ranges from the planning and production of transportation crates to the secure packaging and relocation of largeformat objects like boats, houses, totem and ancestor poles. to prevent pests from entering the humboldt Forum, all the objects from the Ethnological Museum are cleaned by experienced restorers and subjected to nitrogen treatment in a foil tent. Large items are

IMAGES © SHUTTERSTOCK/HASEnKAMp

By harry vincEnt

www.artsandcollections.com

03/12/2020 18:05

ART LOGISTICS // COLLECTIONS

COMPLEX The boat was packed in a 2.5x16x1.4m crate for transportation from Berlin’s Dahlem neighborhood to the construction site in Berlin Mitte using a special transporter. A specially constructed hoist was used to manoeuvre the boat, complete with packaging, into the hall.

There it remains in its transportation crate until work on the site is completed in late 2021.

This is by no means the hasenkamp group’s only complex project. For 20 years, the company has worked to pack and transport archaeological discoveries from Jordan for worldwide exhibitions. Items weighing up to 1000kg were packed in crates that were manufactured in advance at in inhouse carpentry facility in Germany, and shipped to New York for the exhibition The World Between Empires at the Met. For the Louvre Abu Dhabi, a team of more than 40 hasenkamp group art technicians and coordinators set up all its fine art exhibits in an extremely short time-frame between first announcement and opening ceremony.

The hasenkamp group’s R&D department has developed rentable, climate-controlled crates and specialized, patented object specific packaging for all climate zones, and is

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“

Collectors should be looking for financially solid companies, with a good reputation who are offering high standards...

Hans-Ewald Schneider, hasenkamp group

“

transported to Berlin by special transportation and lifted into the exhibition rooms using a haulage scaffold and a gantry crane.

A particular challenge during this logistical project was the transportation of the Luf Boat (seen below). With a length of 15.20 meters and a weight of 8,000 kg, it is not only the heaviest, but also the biggest and most sensitive, object in the collection.

Transportation of large objects like the Luf Boat from Berlin’s Ethnological Museum present interesting challenges in art logistics

developing a new environmentally controlled crate made of sustainable and certified wood with no use of plastics.

The hasenkamp group’s many worldwide storage facilities include a new warehouse in the Netherlands which is CCTV secured, climate controlled by underfloor heating and a humidity control system, and environmentally friendly - 6,000 solar panels make it completely energy self-sufficient, with the excess put back into the grid to supply green energy.

Even that which must be the bugbear of many European companies - Brexit - is being taken into account in the daily operations of the hasenkamp group. Its customs departments constantly monitor developments from both legal and bureaucratic points of view and are fully aware of new requirements as they arise.

Whatever the challenges, the hasenkamp group is ready to play its part in making sure that art can maintain its invaluable role in people’s lives. 

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The Art of Handling Valuables The hasenkamp group is a worldwide logistics company specializing in high-value and sensitive goods.

 A leader in fine art shipping and handling services  37 branches worldwide  Located at all major European cargo airports  The perfect distributor for fine art air cargo  Climate controlled monitoring  Real time supervision Services  High security storages worldwide  Specially developed and customized packing

Paintings, sculptures, installations or cultural assets of all kinds – each object is handled individually.

The hasenkamp group provides the development of innovative and customized packaging solutions, special transportation vehicles, appropriate handling equipment and highly skilled personnel.

We make each transport unique and extraordinary.

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hasenkamp group clients (small selection):  The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York  Petra Museum, The Kingdom of Jordan  National Museum of China, Beijing  Louvre Abu Dhabi  Rijksmuseum Amsterdam  Humboldt-Forum, Berlin  Numerous globally acting galleries  Numerous world known artists and studios

hasenkamp has known since 1903 what it means to operate in a sustainable and forward-thinking way.

From its beginnings, and now in its fifth generation, hasenkamp is an owneroperated family enterprise. An art collector himself, owner Hans-Ewald Schneider heads the company, responsible for fine art logistics with his son, Managing Director Dr. Thomas Schneider.

“We live art. With passion.”

Dr. Thomas Schneider, hasenkamp

FINE ART LOGISTICS FOR OVER A CENTURY Tel: +49 (0) 2234 104-0

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Fax: +49 (0) 2234 104-200

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fineart@hasenkamp.com

hasenkamp-fineart.com

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COLLECTIONS // TRAVEL

A Floating World of Art

Venice remains a glittering symbol of civilization in an uncertain world.

How does its art reflect its storied history?

By CHris Jenkins

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etrarch, the fourteenth-century Tuscan poet, called Venice a mundus alter, “another world,” and the city remains unique in its appeal to the visitor in search of art, culture and history. needless to say its physical structure, a cluster of islands connected by bridges and canals, is unusual enough – until the mid19th century it was possible to reach the city only by boat. But its history is otherworldly too – through 14th and 18th century wars and plague, it retained a stable republican government with a Doge or Duke at its head,

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and built up astonishing wealth through trade, acting as a gateway between east and West. it was this wealth which fertilised the ground for Venice’s astonishing art history. new art techniques imported from the east and from northern europe included oil painting, which largely supplanted the flat, opaque surfaces of tempera seen in painting such as Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. Oil paints provided a more layered, blended effect with a hint of translucence, seen in the cheeks of the Venus of Urbino by Titian or the clouds in Giorgione’s Adoration of the Shepherds.

in the early and High renaissance periods, the Bellini family, the father Jacopo, sons Giovanni and Gentile, and brother-in-law Andrea Mantegna, developed a distinctive style of painting using gorgeous colours, light effects and surface detail. These skills they passed on to Titian and Georgioni who studied in their workshops.

InspIratIon no doubt the inspiration of the surrounding architecture was enough to entrance these painters. The glittering gold and mosaics of

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TRAVEL // COLLECTIONS

IMAGES © SHUTTERSTOCK

Gilded The main altar of the Frari church is dominated

by Titian’s Assumption, and in the Sacristry is Bellini’s great triptychs of a Madonna and Child flanked by four saints, in an elaborate gilded frame.

Unmissably, San Sebastiano contains Veronese’s frescos, ceiling paintings and altarpieces, while San Giorgio Maggiore boasts Tintoretto’s The Last Supper and The Fall of Manna. No visit to the Rialto bridge should miss the nearby San Giovanni Crisostomo, with its altarpieces by Sebastiano del Piombo and Bellini, while the Basilica San Marco contains some 8,000 square metres of glittering mosaics depicting Biblical stories and figures.

But Venice is of course a modern city as well as an ancient one. In recent years new galleries opening include Russian billionaire Leonid Mikhelson’s V-A-C Foundation, Francesca von Habsburg’s TBA21 foundation

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“

Painting Venice is almost like being a restorer, peeling off the layers to find the picture after picture underneath Arbit Blatas, sculptor, 1908–1999

(Above) Jacopo Tintoretto, The Last Supper (Below) Pala di San Zaccaria alterpiece, Madonna Enthroned with Child and Saints, by Giovanni Bellini

“

buildings such as the 11th century Cathedral of San Marco, its lines reflected in the waters of the canals, must have offered endless images to work with.

In the late Renaissance, Venetian painters introduced new subjects such as nudes and landscapes, and experimented with techniques such as asymmetry. Painters such as Tintoretto and Veronese vied to produce more and more impressive and spectacular works for their patrons, who were happy to spend their fortunes on works which magnified their fame.

The churches of Venice remain its most spectacular sights, and the location of many of its most impressive works of art. Tourists will find many churches containing exquisite artworks are free to enter, but opening times can be unpredictable; a tourist pass will give access to churches which charge, but have more reliable opening hours.

The altarpiece at San Zaccaria is one of Bellini’s most serene works, depicting the Virgin and child under a golden canopy and flanked by four saints while an angel plays the viol at Mary’s feet. It is still set in its original marble frame which is repeated on the canvas by the artist’s own painted pilasters, and set so that the sunbeams from the clerestory fall directly onto the painting. (In some churches sepulchral darkness is maintained, while tourists are invited to put money in a slot to activate a couple of minutes of lighting).

in the Chiesa di San Lorenzo, and Gallery Alma Zevi close to Palazzo Grassi.

And, for six months every two years, the city hosts the art exhibitions of the Venice Biennale, attracting creative spirits from all around the world. The main venues are the Arsenale and Giardini, while churches, palazzos and music academies are co-opted for a plethora of collateral events. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s international architecture show has been moved to 2021, while the next art exhibition will also be delayed a year, to 2022.

Swedish curator Daniel Birnbaum, who organized the Venice art biennale in 2009, says, “It just shows the magnitude of the crisis that has changed everyday life on the planet.” The challenge of making the Biennale relevant will, he says, be an interesting one.

Venice, eternally reflecting the wonders of art, nature and spirituality, will no doubt rise to the occasion. 

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COLLECTIONS // ARTIST

Riot of ColouR Critically acclaimed artist, musician, song writer, and Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood exhibited a huge selection of his works at Ashridge House in Hertfordshire this Autumn, and Arts & Collections rock’n’rolled along

By CHRiS JenkinS

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“

Art fills my life and art will continue to be my life – Ronnie Wood

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T

he recent exhibition Ronnie Wood x Ashridge House saw the acclaimed musician and artist present a collection of over 100 original artworks including some of his most treasured paintings, a series of sculptures and a selection of etchings, within the extraordinary interiors of Ashridge House in Hertfordshire. Many of the works were previously unseen, included new pieces he had produced during lockdown.

The exhibition was presented throughout seven opulently decorated rooms of the magnificent house, with one work displayed in the impressive surroundings of the chapel.

Above: Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood in his home art studio, wearing one of the limited edition watches he painted for Bremont

Most of the works were for sale, at prices ranging from around £4,000 to £450,000.

Admission fees from the exhibition were donated to the nHS. Set in 190 acres of parkland in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, Ashridge House is steeped in 700 years of British history. it was first established as a monastery in 1283 but after the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539, it became the country residence of king Henry Viii and later Queen elizabeth i in 1550.

Ashridge was purchased by Sir Thomas egerton (Queen elizabeth i’s Lord keeper) in 1604 and Ashridge House became home to

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ARTIST // COLLECTIONS

the Dukes and Earls of Bridgewater who were in residence there until the First World War. In 1808 Ashridge was almost completely rebuilt by James Wyatt in the spectacular style seen today.

Ronnie Wood has been painting for 70 years, longer than he has been involved in music, and says in his biography: “As a guitarist, I’m known for playing the slide guitar and very much as a rock guitar player – a defined genre. My art allows me to explore more. I break the confines of a chord sequence with my art; I’m able to do whatever I want without having to think about being a part of a band, restricted by what a particular song needs.”

The exhibition featured one room dedicated to Ronnie’s paintings of Ashridge House and its spectacular grounds, while other subjects include his partners in the Rolling Stones, other famous musicians including Elvis Presley, nostalgic images from his family’s history as bargees, and landscape and animal studies, including bronzes of horses and a spectacular 3m painting of Pegasus inspired

by Louis Rouillard’s bronze horse sculpture outside the Musee D’Orsay.

Ronnie Wood said: “I’ve long been inspired by the beauty of Ashridge House and its incredible gardens. I’ve passed by it many times and have always been intrigued by what it’s like inside and the story of the place. I’ve recreated Ashridge in many of my paintings over the years, so to finally go inside and explore such a historic and fascinating place and have the opportunity to show my work there is a really special moment.”

(Above) One of Ronnie Wood’s hand-painted watches from Bremont’s 1947 Collection (Below) The staircase of Ashridge House with Ronnie Wood’s paintings on display

painted while Ronnie was on tour with the Rolling Stones, in a nod to the year he was born, 1947. Each watch in the collection is a one-of-a-kind piece, showcasing original art from Ronnie himself, and housing a special Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier movement with moon phase complication.

Ronnie commented at the time: “Having spent so much time focusing on the dial designs, I’m really looking forward to seeing a completed watch. The white gold case will look fantastic with the guitar/’rock on’ type artwork and turning the watch over shows the wonderful mechanism with ‘I feel like painting’ around the edge and my signature on the rotor.

“I look at some of the dials and it brings back memories of having painted them on tour in places like Chicago, Seattle, or Philadelphia. In different places I’d get a little time to spend doing some art in between looking after those little twins [his three-yearolds Gracie Jane and Alice Rose] - and the music, of course.” ronniewood.com, ashridgehouse.org.uk 

IMAGES © brEMont/AShrIdGE houSE

InspIratIon Of course the Ashridge House exhibition wasn’t the only opportunity to enjoy Ronnie Wood’s art. Last year he held a popup exhibition in Blandford Street, London to showcase his artwork, and a series of limited edition signed prints.

“I’m always looking for new inspiration for my art. Colour fills my life. Even the decoration in my homes is a riot of colour,” said Ronnie.

“I’ve done art for albums, including the cover of an Eric Clapton album, and I do the Stones’ set lists as little works of art.

Earlier this year he collaborated with British luxury watch brand Bremont to create The 1947 Collection, a very limited series of unique and individual hand-painted watches.

The 47 limited edition watch dials were

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Scotch Whisky Cask Investments The Ultimate Investment of Passion.

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According to the Knight Frank Wealth Report, rare whisky was the best performing collectable in a decade, experiencing a meteoric 564% rise in value +120% +60% +175%

Wine Watches

Coloured Diamonds

Coins

+564%

-27%

Rare Whisky

S

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t Fra

nigh

e: K ourc

port

Re ealth

2020

+141%

+77%

Furniture

KFLI

+141%

+564% growth in rare whisky over the past decade

Cars

Art Stamps

Jewellery Handbags

+64%

+194% +93%

+108%

VCL Vintners first entered the alcohol investment market in 2010. Early on they identified what they believed to be the beginnings of an enormous increase in demand for investment-grade Single Malt Scotch Whisky- and they were right. Data presented

by Knight Frank and their Luxury Investment Index suggests that rare whisky has increased in value by 564% over the past decade, cementing its position as one of the most profitable and secure investment vehicles in the world.

Key to VCL’s investment model is the ability to identify future trends within the cask market and to nurture their well established relationships with the whisky distilleries producing these casks. With some £60million in casks now under management,

over 2000 clients worldwide and the plan to start producing their own liquid, its clear that VCL are now among the market leaders in their field.

They have amassed some of the largest private collections of top tier casks including rare and old Macallan, Springbank, Dalmore and Glenlivet, as well as an enormous selection of younger malts from renowned distilliries. Cask investment levels range from retail to corporate with individual portfolio sizes currently between £8,000 and £15million.

VCL provide a fully managed service including transfer of ownership and access to auction all the way through to a bespoke bottling service and sale of the finished article.

START YOUR WHISKY INVESTMENT JOURNEY TODAY

Speak with one of our experienced whisky brokers for a no obligation consultation and decide for yourself if whisky investments could compliment your portfolio. vclvintners.london | 0800 046 3333 | enquiries@vclvintners.london

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COLLECTIONS // Wine and Whisky

Liquid History Investment in wines and whiskies is still a sound strategy if you know your tipples.

As we find out, it’s all about history and reputation

By ChrIs JenkIns

W

In the whisky market, a softening in values for the market leader, The Macallan, made for a challenging start to the year, reflected in a half-year fall of 2.67 percent in the knight Frank Index. But as oversupply eased, the second half of 2019 fared much better, with the Index finishing the year up five percent. According to The Wealth report 2020, rare whisky was the best performing collectable, experiencing a rise in value of 40 percent after being featured in the knight Frank Luxury Investment Index for the first time.

IMAGES Š lIndorES AbbEy

hile certain aspects of the economy seem to be consumed in gloom, there continues to be huge and well-founded optimism for the performance of wine and whisky for the coming years.

According to the knight Frank Investment Index, the fine wine market registered growth of just one percent in 2019, but the top of the Burgundy market reached new peaks early in the year. Despite a lacklustre 2019, the bigger picture is positive, with the knight Frank Fine Wine Icons Index rising by 120 percent in ten years.

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WHISKY INVESTMENT DONE PROPERLY Cask Trade is a trusted marketplace for trading and handling whisky casks. Unlike our competitors we don’t just sell casks, we buy them too.

We own all our casks, and we’re not brokers, we’re stockists. Anything that goes on our stock list is owned outright, and we verify each one before it appears on our stock list, so you can be confident that your cask is genuine.

As specialists in our field, we can offer unique access to some of the most collectable names in whisky – including rare and sought after malts. We share our insights and experience to help you find that perfect cask, or build a fine portfolio.

We are HMRC licensed and offer a choice of exit strategies, including our own auction – Auction Your Cask, giving you the opportunity to tap into our global client base of independent bottlers and investors. It means you can enjoy every aspect of your investment from start to finish.

GET IN TOUCH... info@auctionyourcask.com info@casktrade.com

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0203 746 3030

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WINE AND WHISKY // COLLECTIONS

INVESTMENT

past two decades, and there’s a enormous demand for premium products in the auction houses of Shanghai and Hong Kong.

There’s also strong interest from the USA, with VCL looking at the possibility of a 50year Glenlivet bottling of its rarest casks, perhaps followed by a bottling of its 47-year Caperdonich and a 40-year-old Bowmores.

VCL says “It is clear to see that high net worth individuals are prepared to pay top prices for rare and desirable whiskies, with many collectors not only seeking singular bottles but also their own casks which can cost up to seven figure sums to acquire.

Moreover, there is a noticeable increase in people educating themselves and sourcing whiskies in order to build their collections and diversify their investment portfolios, with demand for ghost distilleries increasing alongside the desire for ‘in operation’ classics such as Lagavulin and Talisker.”

Traditional distilling techniques like those used at Lindores Abbey are part of the appeal of classic whiskies

IMAGES © LINDORES ABBEY

The popular whisky cask investment market is seen as a reliable one, with tangible assets in which an investment can be realised hasslefree.

Founded in 2018, Cask Trade (www.casktrade.com) uniquely sells only whole casks it owns outright. The company’s casks are held in HMRC bonded warehouses, and buyers are offered regular sampling and re-gauging, financial modelling for each cask and a regularly updated investment guide.

Cask Trade also has the first live auction website dedicated to exceptional whisky casks, www.auctionyourcask.com. As Cask Trade founder Simon Aron points out, “Time is on your side as whisky only matures in the cask. The more mature it gets the more valuable it becomes. And casks are safer than storing bottles; the only thing stealing your whisky is the angels!”

Vintners such as VCL are now focussed on forging relationships in China, where interest in whisky has grown by 22 percent over the past three years. Exports of whisky to China from the UK have increased eight-fold over the

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COLLECTIONS // Wine and Whisky

Kingdom of whisKy Lindores is situated in the ‘Kingdom of Fife’, that historic county between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth. Bringing distilling back to Lindores after 500 years is the culmination of a lifelong dream for the custodian of Lindores, Drew McKenzie Smith, founder and executive chairman of the distillery.

The new Lindores distillery was created by converting and enlarging the original old Abbey farmsteading using a glass-fronted stillroom designed by Organic Architects, and fitted out by Forsyth’s of Rothes, the ‘RollsRoyce’ of still-makers.

Working with the legendary maturation expert Dr Jim Swan and using the best casks, spirit started flowing once again from copper stills at Lindores Abbey Distillery in 2017, bringing a very modern whisky-making approach to the ancient site.

Water for Lindores whisky comes from a

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neary borehole, and the barley is grown in Fife. Winning ‘best Scottish new make spirit’ in the 2020 World Whisky Awards was a huge accolade, recognising the exceptionally high quality of the spirit going into casks. The judges described it as “Menthol, orchard fruits, vanilla and sweetcorn on the nose. Palate has an oily quality, with notes of cereals, liquorice.

Well-made and very pleasant new make.”

In December 2020 the Lindores Abbey spirit comes of age, having matured in a cask for three years and a day to allow it to be called ‘whisky’. Lindores has been delighted with the uptake from its private cask owners ‘family’. Cask investors can select according to size and flavour profile – no two casks are exactly the same.

BespoKe service The core range of casks includes bourbon barrels and sherry casks, including an exclusive agreement with a world renowned Spanish Bodega, one of only three sherry Bodegas to receive 100 points from acclaimed wine critic Robert Parker.

Lindores offers a truly bespoke service whereby cask custodian Elliot Wynn-Higgins and distillery manager Gary Haggart help

Modern construction and traditional distilling methods are combined at Lindores Abbey

in selection and timing of the bottling.

Cask owners are invited to special events throughout the year, can visit their cask onsite, and can take a sample once a year to gauge how their spirit is evolving.

Lindores also has an exclusive private society limited to only 1494 members, with many privileges including access to the members’ bar at annual dinners, as well as a wooden plaque bearing the member’s name on the wall of the legacy bar.

Members also get to plant a fruit tree at Lindores, and part of their membership payment goes to the ‘Lindores Abbey Foundation’ which looks after the Abbey grounds, as well as running educational and practical courses where the history and ethos of Lindores are introduced to whisky and history lovers from around the world.

Arguably the most prized element of becoming a member is their own personally numbered bottle from the very first limited edition run of 1494 from Lindores Abbey - the first in over 500 years, and a sound investment for the future. 

IMAGES © lIndorES AbbEy

Bumps in the road such as the US import tax on single malt remain to be resolved, but with the whisky manufacturers’ community unifyiing, the signs are promising - as they say in the Highlands, “today’s rain is tomorrow’s whisky”.

The value of whiskey really lies in its traditions and history. Overseen by one of Ireland’s most awarded Head Distillers, Michael Walsh, family-owned Boann Distillery (boanndistillery.ie) distils Irish Single Pot Still and Single Malt whiskey in three copper pot stills, the only whiskey stills in the world utilising nanotechnology in their design.

The distinct flavour library of the spirit is enhanced by a range of cask offerings including Bourbon, Sherry, Port, Sauternes and Rum. Founder Pat Cooney says: “There has never been a better time to lay down your own casks of Ireland’s national spirit. We produce unique whiskeys with provenance and every cask will tell a story – the story of our land, our people and our family.”

Nowhere is the history and tradition of whisky more present than at Lindores Abbey, (www.lindoresabbeydistillery.com), which is recognised as the ‘Spiritual Home of Scotch Whisky’. Distilling took place here as early as 1494, with the earliest written reference mentioning a Brother John Cor, a Lindores monk, who was commissioned by King James IV to turn ‘8 bolls of malt’ into Aqua Vitae. Now a state-of-the-art new whisky distillery sits within the Abbey grounds.

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嘀愀氀 搀攀猀 倀椀琀漀渀猀Ⰰ 倀伀 䈀漀砀 ㈀㔀㄀Ⰰ 匀漀甀昀爀椀攀爀攀Ⰰ 匀愀椀渀琀 䰀甀挀椀愀⸀ 刀攀猀攀爀瘀愀琀椀漀渀猀㨀 ⠀唀䬀⤀ ⬀㐀㐀 ㈀ ㌀ 㤀㘀 ㄀㘀 ⼀⠀唀匀⤀ ⬀㄀ 㠀 ㈀㌀㔀 㐀㌀ 䄀䰀䜀䄀刀嘀䔀 ∠ 䌀䠀䤀䌀䄀䜀伀 ∠ 䌀伀䰀伀䴀䈀䤀䄀 ∠ 䰀伀匀 䌀䄀䈀伀匀 ∠ 倀䄀一䄀䴀䄀 ∠ 刀䤀嘀䤀䔀刀䄀 䴀䄀夀䄀 ∠ 匀䄀一吀䄀 䴀伀一䤀䌀䄀 匀䄀一 䘀刀䄀一䌀䤀匀䌀伀 ∠ 匀䔀刀䈀䤀䄀 ∠ 匀一伀圀䴀䄀匀匀 ∠ 匀吀⸀䰀唀䌀䤀䄀 ∠ 圀䄀匀䠀䤀一䜀吀伀一 䐀䌀

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Winter Sun // COLLECTIONS

Safe in the Sun

We probably all feel we need a holiday at the end of this unprecedented year, and where better than Saint Lucia to enjoy the Winter sun in safety and luxury?

By ChriS JenkinS

A

fter a challenging year, most of us are probably looking forward to a winter break. While some travel restrictions may still be in place, there are locations where it’s safe to travel, and where the warm welcome will make you forget the cold of winter.

The eastern Caribbean island of Saint Lucia is a popular destination for holiday makers and cruise passengers alike – and, during the travel restrictions, increasingly attractive to private fliers who can charter flights directly to the island.

Dominated by the dramatic Pitons mountains, Saint Lucia features attractions such as volcanic beaches, reef-diving sites, fishing villages, and trails into the interior rainforest, leading to waterfalls like the magnificent 15m-high Toraille.

The capital, Castries, is a popular cruise port, open to visitors from all countries. Full health precautions are being taken. At the time of writing all arrivals aged five years and over must have a COViD-19 PCr test with a negative result taken no more than seven days before arrival, along with travel registration and health screening forms.

Slightly different terms will apply if you are arriving by boat from an area in the local ‘travel bubble’ such as Antigua or Barbados. it’s this attention to detail, and the universal provisional of PPe, testing and sanitisation facilities that has kept Saint Lucia a safer destination.

Once the formalities are over, the delights of the island are yours to enjoy.

While the glorious white beaches of Saint Lucia may make you miss the Christmas snow, Sugar Beach lays on a full programme of seasonal entertainments, including visits from Santa and traditional family Christmas dinners, along with more local specialties such as rum and chocolate tastings. needless to say, Sugar Beach has all the facilities you might need for a wide range of water sports, snorkelling, outdoor gym classes, and hiking, and includes a marine conservation area with a marvellous selection of undersea life.

Also on site are plunge pools, spas, gardens, tennis courts and more. There are

first class restaurants you can enjoy, but if you prefer to stay isolated you can have food delivered to your villa.

Perhaps surprisingly Sugar Beach also features a world-class art collection including works by Andy Warhol, Tom Sachs, kaws and roy Lichtenstein, for which you can arrange private tours.

Find out more about Saint Lucia at www.stlucia.org, and about Sugar Beach at www.viceroyhotelsandresorts.com/sugarbeach.  Saint Lucia is the ideal destination for a safe Winter holiday, and Sugar Beach resort the perfect location

Spectacular

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IMAGES © ShuttErStock

For instance at Sugar Beach A Viceroy resort, standalone villas and residences with fully-equipped kitchens make it easy to practice social distancing while enjoying long-term stays. Lying in an UneSCO World heritage site, Sugar Beach offers spectacular views of the turquoise ocean, as well as two magnificent beaches.

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BOOK REVIEWS

COLLECTIONS // BOOKS

From the secrets of painter Francis Bacon to the rock images of Anton Corbijn, and the iconography of railroads to behind-the-scenes portraits of the elite of the rock world, our round-up of essential reading brings you the latest in collectable titles for your coffee-table and bookshelf

INSIDE FRANCIS BACON Martin Harrison, editor I Thames & Hudson, £28 I thamesandhudson.com Featuring 145 illustrations, this third volume of Bacon studies published by the estate discloses exciting new research from letters and medical records, and considers the artist through biography and technical analysis of his works. Essays are

by Martin Harris, Sophie Pretorius, Francesca Pipe and others. Editor Martin Harrison is the pre-eminent expert on Bacon and was editor of Francis Bacon: Catalogue Raisonné (2016).

FRANCIS BACON OR THE MEASURE OF EXCESS Yves Peyré I ACC Art Books, £45 I www.accartbooks.com If you need more Bacon in your life, this thoroughly illustrated 328-page monograph by a personal friend of the artist, translated from the French original, is a perfect complement to the more academic Inside Francis Bacon. Detailing Bacon’s artistic journey from early design work in the 1920s to the disturbing, emotive triptychs of the 1980s, this philosophical, poetic and artistic stroll through the iconic artist’s mind, with 160 images including Three Studies for a Crucifixion, this is also the ideal guide for anyone new to Bacon.

TIME TO ACT Simon Annand I Lannoo, £39.95 I www.lannoopublishers.com Following his exhibition The Half, in Time to Act photographer Simon Annand continues to explore the moments of vulnerability every actor experiences before going on stage. With an introduction by Cate Blanchett, among 230 monochrome and colour images are revealing portraits of Gillian Anderson, Orlando Bloom, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Sharon D Clark, Andrew Scott, Josette Simon and Judi Dench. A virtual exhibition is hosted on TimeToActPhotos.com.

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BOOKS // collections

LOGOMOTIVE Ian Logan, Jonathan Glancey I Sheldrake Press, £35 I www.sheldrakepress.co.uk Subtitled Railroad Graphics and the American Dream, this visual tribute to the heyday of railroad graphics in mid-century America captures an era when everyday transportation looked more like spaceships and jetplanes. Ian Logan has been researching the field since the 60s, and his collected work here is an invaluable and unique archive. Jonathan Glancey adds the stories of the railroads and advertisers who captured an American dream now long faded away. With a foreword

by Norman Foster.

TRACEY EMIN Jonathan Jones I Laurence King, £14.99 I www.laurenceking.com Jonathon Jones, art critic for The Guardian and Turner Prize judge, traces the complete career of one of the most radical, enigmatic and compelling figures in contemporary art from her turbulent adolescence in Margate, to 1999’s My Bed in the Turner Prize, and her traumatic life and multi-faceted career beyond.

Tracy Emin features unpublished images and an up-todate assessment of the artist’s career. Excellent value for money, it’s the first title in Laurence King Publishing’s Art File series.

THE LOOK OF THE BOOK

IMAGES © THE PUBLISHERS

PeterMe ndelsund,D avidJ A lworth I Ten Speed Press, £30 I www.penguinrandomhouse.com Subtitled Jackets, Covers, and Art at the Edges of Literature, this hefty 292-page hardcover asks why some bookjackets capture attention, while others never get a second glance. It’s an exercise in design itself, with hundreds of graphics, full covers, text samples and even a book-withina-book. With trends and insights from design luminaries it’s heavily slanted towards graphic design, though it does also feature the likes of Chris Foss’s colourful ‘70s spaceships. This will become an essential reference guide for book designers and bibliophiles alike.

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SHOW YOU THE WORLD IN MY EYES Anton Corbijn I Taschen, £750 I www.taschen.com Since 1986, Dutch photographer and film-maker Anton Corbijn has applied his timeless and brooding aesthetic to recording synthesizer rock band Depeche Mode. This 512-page collection of over 500 photographs from Corbijn’s personal archives, some never seen before, as well as stage set designs, sketches, album covers, and personal observations from Corbijn and the band, amplifies his stunning impact on “the world’s biggest cult band”. As well as the standard edition there are signed collector’s editions and two art editions of 100 copies each.

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COLLECTIONS // Lauren Baker

An Artist in Lockdown

Arts & Collections asked Lauren Baker how the creative mind responds, both artistically and practically, to working during the coronavirus lockdown.

By Chris Jenkins

L

auren Baker, born in Middlesborough in 1982, lives and works in London. A contemporary multidisciplinary artist who exhibits internationally, her work explores human connection, metaphysics and the expansiveness of the universe.

Passionate about environmental issues and sustainability, the artist uses light to express the ‘secrets of the universe’ and aims to raise the vibration of love and connection within the world. her signature neon works, celestial chakra artworks and poetic typography portray the power of artistic energy.

We asked Lauren how an artist adjusts to

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working under lockdown. (A longer version of this article appears on the Arts & Collections website).

Q. What’s your usual working process?

A. i’m a multidisciplinary artist – i use a plethora of materials to create, working in forms of sculpture, paintings and prints. My large scale sculptural installations are usually made from lights and mirrors.

Q. How has the current situation affected your working patterns? Does isolation change your working process?

A. i try to create ‘super human conditions’ so that my creativity flows through the day. i aim to get into a ‘blue sky thinking’ kind of mind set where anything is possible, so i start my morning rituals… keeping my eyes closed to recall my dreams, bullet proof coffee, kundalini yoga, journalling + gratitude lists, a sevenminute breathing meditation. i usually go to the studio from 10.306.30pm Tuesday to Thursday to work with my team, then i have a few days to myself which is crucial to give myself the gift of time and space to think and dream big.

These days however, i’m in the studio on

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ARTIST // COLLECTIONS

my own as my team work remotely – it’s a huge space - 4500sq ft!

I’m mostly conceptualising and experimenting with new ideas and materials, while juggling commissions, proposals, and chatting to galleries, curators and collectors.

Now that I’m on my own, I keep telling myself I’m going to start abstract painting again, yet I’m also loving the slowness and I’m so busy with commissions and public art proposals, so honestly I’ve not started.

I’ve been full power go-go-go for the whole nine years of my art career, so this ‘corona cloud’ feels unusually special. I will start those new abstracts soon, when the pain of procrastination becomes too much to bear and the calling becomes intensely strong!

process over time. Some ideas and deep levels of understanding need time to incubate.

We are in the middle of something huge. The end isn’t here yet.

More ideas will evolve… it will be interesting to see how artists perceive this time; from the beginning flooded with fear, evolving to acceptance, growth and the conclusion – which we aren’t at yet, though it’s likely we will tell stories of love and hope and unity and beautiful things will come from the sadness!

consciousness. More public artworks are in the horizon. I am committed to my creativity inducing rituals. For others wanting to explore their own creativity, I suggest reading The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. 

Q. How do you continue to inspire yourself creatively, and in what direction do you see your work going in the future?

A. I love creating large-scale installations and works about energy and human

www.laurenbakerart.com

Lauren’s latest collection including Spread Nothing but Kindness (£450), signature work We Will Burn Brighter (£8,000) and the limited edition Expect Magic And Miracles (£9,500) are on sale now.

(Below) Lauren Baker, Choose Love (2019), Frequency of the Sun (2020) and the artist at work in her London studio

IMAGES © lAurEn bAkEr/roMAn Scott

Q. How does the artist normally think of their work output? Is it a steady stream, a series of themes, or a cycle?

A. In terms of when I’m creating… it’s definitely a cycle. I’m used to the changing patterns. My main inspiration comes during and after travel adventures – interrupting the usual patterns and being immersed in nature and new cultures expands my mind.

After a big solo show, I often travel spontaneously for a while. I love the freedom and excitement of getting a one-way ticket and following my intuition.

Q. With events and exhibitions being cancelled, possibly for months to come, how does the artist keep in touch with the outside world? Will the current enforced reliance on online communication mark a major shift in the way artists market themselves in the future?

A. Instagram is an incredible communication tool, especially for visual artists. I’m doing more videos and exploring IGTV. I’ve just joined TikTok. Find me on most platforms at @ laurenbakerart. I’m doing more video calls on Zoom. I’m feeling really connected!

No doubt many will come out of this period with better communication and technology skills, being forced to connect in the virtual (yet very real) world.

Q. Do you think artistic response to the current situation should be immediate, or might a period of reflection be necessary?

A. Both. Artists are reflecting how they perceive the world. Some will have fast thoughts, creations and sharings, others will

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COLLECTIONS // GALLERY

Challenge and

InnovatIon

Running a gallery in these uncertain times is a challenge – even more so opening a new one. Arts & Collections talked to Serena Dunn of Grove Square about the gallery’s approach

By ChRiS JenkinS

O

“What’s so exciting about opening a new gallery and especially at this time, is that the everyday norms of gallery structures and systems have been turned on their head. This means we have had to be really innovative and much more personal in how

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The pandemic has caused a significant problem for a lot of artists and we think supporting them is more important than ever – Serena Dunn, Grove Square Galleries

(Right) Private commission, © elena Gual

IMAGES © GrovE SquArE GAllErIES/ElEnA GuAl

New taleNts

“

(Above) Serena Dunn, Art Director of Grove Square Galleries

“

pening in October 2020 with an inaugural show of work by painter Christopher kieling, Grove Square Gallery in London’s exclusive Fitzrovia offers emerging and established collectors an avenue for exploration and discovery.

Merging digital innovation and physical exhibitions, the gallery’s space offers a year-round programme of dynamic talks and events run in tandem with an artistled exhibition programme celebrating contemporary art practice worldwide.

The gallery is also home to an independent and impartial art advisory service which works to build private collections, and to source secondary market pieces under the helm of Art Director Serena Dunn. We asked her about her role, and particularly about how the coronavirus pandemic affects the everyday work of the gallery.

“Being a director in a gallery is such a diverse role”, Serena says. “At Grove Square Galleries, i am really lucky that my role is a blend of all the things i love. it’s a privilege to be working directly to foster some great contemporary young artists for our programme. This means my day is diverse from artist liaison, studio visits to explore new bodies of works to team meetings and ensuring that the logistics of the exhibitions are up and running effectively.

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GALLERY // COLLECTIONS

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we find and show our artists and work with our collectors, but I am relishing the challenge and it’s making me much more acutely aware and sensitive to new talents and ways of doing things.”

So how has the coronavirus pandemic affected the gallery world, and what is Grove Square’s response? “It would be wrong to say that COVID has not provided a very unique set of challenges” says Serena.

“As a new space, however, it is an exciting opportunity to help create the new norm without the baggage of ‘how things have been done in the past’ - we haven’t had to unlearn old habits, just creatively work together in order to forge a new path.”

“The general move within the art world to an emphasis on digital has also opened up various avenues, and we genuinely believe if a new gallery can open and be successful during this time, we’re here to stay.”

“Since getting the keys to our Fitzrovia gallery in February the world has changed dramatically. This time has given us the opportunity to reflect on our mission and spend time working really closely with our artists and building relationships with new ones. We believe each of our artists has a story that should be heard and our aim is to do that through a dynamic exhibition programme and a series of talks that highlight their work. Whilst the method of sharing those stories may have changed, our compulsion to do so hasn’t. The pandemic has caused a significant problem for a lot of artists and we think supporting them is more important than ever.”

Digital engagement With that in mind, Is art the investment it once was? Are collectors still looking for longterm profit, or perhaps concentrating more on works they like and want to live with?

“This very much depends on the individual and their own independent goals” explain Serena. “However what we have noticed is our that clients who are initially approaching us from a pure investment are realising either early in the process or mid process, that art is more than that!

“We’ve found that the shift towards a more digital way of engaging with audiences presents an opportunity to engage with new collectors who have developed an interest in acquiring art for their homes after months of looking at blank walls during lockdown.

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It’s only natural that people have a new appreciation for how art can transform a space and we’re enjoying working with both new and established collectors; sharing our knowledge and passion to help them build their collections.”

So what sort of strategy should the art investor adopt? How can an art advisory service help a private collector or a corporate client? “First and foremost – buy what you love!” says Serena. “However it all comes back to the simple question of what each individual collector or investor is looking

(Above) Christopher Kieling, Sierra, 2020, courtesy the artist and Grove Square Galleries

for with their purchase. For example, are they looking for a long-term opportunity to support an artist’s journey as they become more recognised?

“At Grove Square we love to help clients discover and support artists on our roster and to help provide new ways of looking at art through our exhibition and events programme. At the end of the day, if a

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GALLERY // COLLECTIONS

(Left) Mark Standing, Primordial Instinct (2020), courtesy the artist and Grove Square Galleries (Below) Crystal Fischetti, Memory Made (2020), acrylic and oil on canvas, 150 x 120 x 2.5 cm, courtesy the artist and Grove Square Galleries

prospective investor isn’t a good fit and wants a “get rich quick” scheme we will turn them away.”

So what sort of artists will Grove Square be supporting? “Our aim is to champion artists at various stages of their careers” says Serena. “For our emerging and mid-career artists we pride ourselves on providing them with a safe space for them to discover their full potential and I’m always on hand to facilitate that – whether it is regarding a new idea, opportunities to collaborate or commissions.”

UniqUe voice “When looking for new artists, our criteria are simple - artists who have a unique voice, a story to share, and a desire to succeed in a collaborative setting. We are here to support and nurture, as much or as little as each of our individual artists need.

“We launched with a solo exhibition of paintings by Berlin-based artist Christopher Kieling. Chris’ works exude nostalgia and elegance. The paintings we’re showing were created during lockdown and he drew on the circumstances we all found ourselves in, so they really resonate with these extraordinary times. When we saw Chris’ work, we knew we were looking at something very special and we’re thrilled to have this body of work as our inaugural exhibition.”

So finally, what can galleries do to reach out to new audiences and to democratise the culture of collecting, particularly in these challenging times? “With the current climate affecting footfall and international travel, we (along with others in the industry) are turning towards creating a digital experience alongside our physical gallery programme” Serena explains. “Our personal relationships with artists and clients have always been at the core of what we do, and providing a tailored and personal experience is still vital and possible, even with the move to digital and appointment-based viewings.”  Grove Square Galleries is at 156 New Cavendish Street, Fitzrovia, London, W1W 6YW, www.grovesquaregalleries.com.

The Colour of Abstraction: New Ways of Seeing runs from 10th December 2020 22nd January 2021, with work by Orlanda Broom, Crystal Fiscetti, Elena Gual, Harry Rudham and Marc Standing.

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Classic Beauty, Modern Restoration hawkclassics.co.uk Hawk Classic.indd 1

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Cars // COLLECTIONS

Saving the

ClassiCs How can classic cars be preserved for the future? From ground-up restoration to electrification, here’s how the experts are saving superb automobiles

By CHris Jenkins

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COLLECTIONS // Cars

ConCours standard Hawk Classics of Northfleet in Kent clearly believes in the restoration option.

Acutely aware that some classic cars are now suffering the effects of outdated manufacturing techniques, they are prepared to go to amazing lengths to not only restore a classic to its original condition, but also to make sure it is a road-going prospect for years to come, not just a museum piece.

Leading a small team of passionate engineers, Tony Hawk restores icons of the

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50’s, 60’s and 70’s to concours standards with precision and passion, blending in modern touches and discreet technical improvements.

A typical project is the 1961 Jaguar Mk2 3.8 Manual, which Tony describes as “not simply a rebuild or a common-or-garden restoration, it’s a rejuvenation of a 1960’s icon, a renovation of all that is classic, with touches of modernisation - there isn’t a nut, bolt, bearing, gasket or bush that hasn’t been restored or replaced.”

Work begins with a fierce-sounding ‘acid dipping’. To eliminate rust, the shell is stripped and dipped in acid which penetrates every part of the chassis, removing, dirt, paint, filler and rust. The result is pure metal, ready for extensive water-resistant seam welding, grinding down, panel replacement and fabrication of new panels, leaving a beautiful, clean, solid shell, “Almost a shame to cover with paint and parts!” says Tony Hawk.

A second acid dipping is followed by an electrophoretic coating to provide corrosion protection, then repainting, in this case a multi-coat respray in period Jaguar Cornish Grey, then undersealing of the chassis.

Each piece of the Mk2’s signature chrome

(Above) This 1961 Jaguar Mk 2 restored by Hawk Classics was a labour of love with added modern touches

(Opposite) Bentley’s EXP100 electric concept car - a classic of the future?

from the grille to window winders had to be stripped, coated and re-chromed, then it was on to the interior; an exercise in sumptuous hand-crafting with traditional upholstery skills and restoration of the walnut dashboard panelling by specialist craftsmen. Every element, from carpets, headlining, visors and door cards to every piece of interior trim was restored, along with all the gauges and dials.

The result is if anything finished to a higher quality than when this beautiful car rolled off of the production line.

Modern touChes The same attention was applied to the engine, a complete re-build with hardening of valve seats to permit use of unleaded petrol, along with new pumps, rings and bearings, restoration of the gearbox and sub-frames, and complete electrical rewiring.

IMAGES © hAwk clASSIcS/bEntlEy/EvErrAtI

W

ith Bentley announcing that it would be launching an electric model in 2025 and switching to a fully electric line-up by 2030, clearly it’s time for owners of petrol-driven classic cars to think about what they can do to preserve their beloved vehicles for the future.

Future emissions legislation aside, there are some good economic arguments for going electric. Day-to-day running costs and longterm maintenance expenses for EVs (electric vehicles) are lower than those of petrol or diesel vehicles, and range and performance are improving constantly. But some pundits doubt whether EVs will ever reach ‘classic’ status. So which is the best route to follow?

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Cars // COLLECTIONS

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COLLECTIONS // Cars

should be that you’ll rarely have to have your EV serviced and the running and repair costs should be minimal.

This is not to mention the environmental advantages of running your car on an emission-free electric motor, and taking all those petrol tankers off the road.

But how does this apply to classic cars?

It’s a challenge, but they can be fitted with electric engines. It’s no small task as it can involve fabrication of new motor mounts, adding strengthening to the chassis to take the extra weight of the batteries, upgrading suspension and other components to take into account the altered weight distribution, and modifying brakes to facilitate regenerative braking and cope with extra power.

Everrati (formerly ionic) is at the forefront of iconic reconceptions, with projects such as a Mercedes-Benz SL ‘Pagoda’ and a Porsche 911 Carrera 964 Targa already completed.

rEgEnEration

Everatti’s Porsche 911 964 Targa; new electric life breathed into a glorious icon

Modern touches includes electronic ignition, new alternator and starter motor, improved brakes, an aluminium radiator, improved water pump and upgraded audio, with JL audio amplifiers and a RetroAudio head unit compatible with the car’s original look and feel.

To finish off the look of the car, the stock steel wheels were replaced with period wire wheels and traditional ‘knock off’ hubs.

Finished price, to you, sir? A very reasonable £75,000. As Tony Hawk puts it, with the classic car booming, this beauty will now be “not only a pleasure to own, but a worthwhile investment.”

This is just one of Hawk Classics’ notable projects, along with, recently, a 1977 Corvette Stingray C3, a 1974 Jensen Interceptor and a 1985 Daimler Double Six. But what if you want to take the restoration idea a bit further, and convert a classic to electric power?

ElEctric argumEnt There are good arguments for doing this; firstly it’s been proposed that by 2030 sales of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK will

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be stopped, and of hybrids by 2035. This won’t initially affect used cars, including classics, but the government has set a target for the nation to be emitting virtually zero carbon by 2050, so it’s difficult to say when restrictions might be placed on driving internal combustion engine vehicles.

Classic car enthusiasts may already have fallen foul of charges for driving their vehicles in areas like London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone or Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone. The government’s aim to reduce the number of petrol and diesel-powered vehicles on UK roads is sure to mean a steady increase in similar charges.

And of course, there is a sound economic argument for going electric. The price of a new electric vehicle may be similar to most comparable petrol or diesel cars, but the cost of running one is significantly lower, from tax incentives and special government grants to enhanced fuel efficiency, lower cost of electricity, and reduced maintenance requirements.

Fully electric cars generally have only three main components powering the vehicle; the on-board charger, inverter and motor. This minimises wear and tear on the car and puts little stress on the motor, with fewer moving parts susceptible to damage. The result

While Everrati’s aim is to lower a car’s environmental impact, the job also entails fully refurbishing bodywork and customising interiors, in fact reconceiving the vehicle as a state-of-the-art electric car.

Each Everrati car is a bespoke creation for its owner to enjoy into the future. Dials and console components are based on original styling and compassionately designed to be in keeping with the original interior décor.

Each Everrati car is equipped with brand-new custom designed battery packs complete with advanced battery management, advanced temperature control, and regenerative braking.

Power units are OEM-grade electric motors and, where appropriate, a custom single speed gearbox is installed developed

by Everrati’s engineering team. Performance is also vastly improved.

Everrati’s Justin Lunny says: “We breathe new life into these glorious icons; fully refurbishing bodywork, customising interiors, and converting the vehicle into a state-ofthe-art electric car” – though the process is reversible, and Everrati can even preserve your old engine in a Perspex coffee-table!

It’s great to know that classics like these will have a future - though dedicated petrolheads may take some time to get used to the discreet hum of electric power, rather than the throaty roar of the internal combustion engine. 

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Iconic past.

Everrati future.

TM

Photo: @glenngratton

Mercedes-Benz SL W113 “Pagoda” reconcieved by EverratiTM

Everrati™

Creating the world’s most iconic electric cars.

Everrati™ reconceive the most beautiful, glamorous, desirable motorcars the world has ever seen.

We make iconic cars relevant to the world today; upgrading each one to offer unparalleled luxury, high performance, zero-emission electric power.

To future-proof your driving experience please register your interest at: www.everrati.com/artsandcollections Everrati™ supplies restored and modified classic and vintage cars for its customers. Everrati™ does not manufacture vehicles. Everrati™ is not sponsored, associated, approved, endorsed, nor, in any way, affiliated with the manufacturers of the cars they restore. All brand names, logos and crests along with any other products mentioned are the trademarks of their respective holders. Any mention of trademarked names or other marks is for purpose of reference only.

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THE PIANO REINVENTED Request our look book for 2021 at edelweisspianos.com

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Musical instruMents // COLLECTIONS

The ArT of Sound Musical instruments can be works of art without having to play a note. We look at some of the most amazing and beautiful instruments ever conceived By john renWick

Harrison alfa romeo electric Guitar inspired by the car maker Alfa romeo, harrison’s hand-made electric guitar is finished in bright red, has a volume dial cunningly disguised as the marque’s hood badge, and its semi-open poplar and maple body is designed to mimic the classic radiator grilles of iconic Alfas of the past. The final automotive touch is a four-leaf clover aluminum/coral insert in malachite green on the third fret, a nod to Alfa’s Quadrifoglio Verde badge. cost is around £4,000.

manzer Pikasso Guitar

The 3D printed two-string Piezoelectric Violin is the brainchild of architects eric Goldemberg and Veronica Zalcberg of Miami’s MonAD studio. “innovation in instrument design is a balancing act of paying homage to history and tradition while at the same time looking forward boldly into the future” says Goldemberg.

Designed by folk singer Linda Manzer, the Pikasso may look like a Photoshop fake, but it’s a real and practical instrument played by among others Pat Metheny. he used the 42-string, four-neck instrument on many albums including Imaginary Day, What’s It All About, and Beyond the Missouri Sky (Short Stories).

roland GPX-f1 Piano concePt

scHimmel k208 PeGasus Piano

The piano Darth Vader would choose, the roland GPX-F1 is only a concept so far.

The winning entry in a design competition by jong chan kim, the Facet has been displayed at the Las Vegas consumer electronics Show. it features a built-in display screen for scores, compatibility with the Alexa digital assistant, and a builtin projector for the totally superfluous lid.

Designed by Luigi colani in his curvaceous ‘biodynamic’ style, the Pegasus appears to float in mid-air as it’s supported by a central glass panel. At the keyboard end the bodywork swoops down to encompass the built-in adjustable piano stool. The lid opens hydraulically and the keyboard cover disappears into the case. even the keyboard is slightly curved. Price is around £220,000.

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monad Piezoelectric Violin

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COLLECTIONS // ProPerty

Grand Living and driving What happens when a luxury car brand collaborates with a renowned architect? The result is Aston Martin’s homes in New York’s prestigious 130 William building

BY Chris JeNkiNs

I

f you aspire to live in luxury and travel in style, a new collaboration between British car maker Aston Martin, renowned architect sir David Adjaye and Us real estate company Lightstone should fit the bill.

Five individual luxury homes in New York City’s most desirable new address, the towerblock at 130 William, have been created

by Aston Martin with sir David Adjaye, who has also custom designed a special edition Aston Martin DBX to go to each owner.

Aston Martin Chief Creative Officer, Marek reichman and sir David Adjaye worked together on this project, to bring the ethos of

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Aston Martin’s elegant design and dedicated craftmanship to 130 William’s custom architecture and handcrafted interiors. reichman said: “This is a fascinating project for the Aston Martin design team to work on and a great opportunity to collaborate with sir David. it is our first real estate project in New York City but our second collaboration in real estate design after the Aston Martin residences in Miami. We can apply what we have learnt in Miami and also bring our unique automotive design skills to these beautiful luxury homes.”

Adjaye is responsible for the holistic vision

of 130 William, designing its iconic exterior architecture, as well as all of the building’s interiors which includes 242 residences, over 20,000 square feet of amenities, and a new plaza park. The building stands approximately 800 feet tall (244 meters), and at 66 stories makes a bold architectural statement set against the Manhattan skyline.

design sensibilities sir David Adjaye said: “it was exciting to find an opportunity to collaborate with the Aston Martin team. The 130 William Aston Martin homes have been touched in a very particular

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ProPerty // COLLECTIONS

Above: The interior of the 130 William Adjaye Special Edition Aston Martin DBX

IMAGES © ASton MArtIn/bInyAn/lIGhtStonE

Left: The outdoor loggia of the 130 William Aston Martin homes

way that merges our design sensibilities.

Together with the limited edition SUVs that come with these units, we’ve created a truly unique signature that blends our two disciplines.”

The five fully furnished exclusive homes are located on the 59th and 60th floors of 130 William and feature a unique and highly distinctive design identity. Each home features a private, expansive outdoor loggia spanning the entire length of residence and is set behind the unique rhythms of the hand cast building façade, with bespoke screens dividing the balconies into a series of distinct zones for dining and relaxing. The residences are fully furnished, with unique visual elements and accessories, hand-crafted materials and textiles and furniture from the acclaimed Aston Martin Home Collection by the Italian manufacturer Formitalia.

When residents first step off the elevator, they will see interior design elements featuring Aston Martin’s signature crosshatch pattern in a bronze finish. Beneath the bronze detailing is wallpaper designed by Adjaye Associates, while a bespoke smoked glass mirror created

by Aston Martin Design reflects the skyline view in a distinctive arched form which is a nod to the arches on the façade.

Within each home, residents are presented with a grand living and dining room, featuring furnishings, textiles and fittings curated by Marek Reichman and Sir David Adjaye. The

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living room offers city-wide views, clean lines and sleek furnishings from the Aston Martin Home Collection by Formitalia, with every piece made in Italy.

The living room provides direct access to the outdoor loggia which blends indoor and outdoor spaces, a rare and precious amenity in New York.

Strong Synergy The 130 William Adjaye Special Edition Aston Martin DBX marks the first time that Aston Martin has collaborated with an architect on the custom fit out of one of their signature vehicles. The DBX is the first SUV to be created by the luxury British manufacturer and just like the marque’s sports cars, it

captures the very spirit of Aston Martin as a beautiful, hand-built, yet technologically advanced car. Evoking the materials, textures and atmosphere of 130 William, Adjaye worked with Aston Martin to ensure the DBX’s highly crafted interiors and custom paintwork have a strong synergy with the building’s architecture.

The DBX Special Edition marks the debut of real stone accents, with Grey “Pietra D’Avola” marble inlays matched with Satin Walnut wood. Aston Martin’s traditional hand-stitched leather includes Parliament Green trim and steering wheel from Aston Martin’s in-house customisation service, “Q by Aston Martin”, matching the walls of the simulator room option, and deep, multilayered paintwork in a Q by Aston Martin bespoke colour inspired by 130 William’s exterior, complete with subtle hints of green.

The interior includes carved solid walnut trim, with Q by Aston Martin Parliament Green leatherwork and details in bronze, black anodized aluminium and real stone.

The five homes include two penthouses, priced at $11,500,000 for PH60A, $10,500,000 for PH60B, and three loggia residences L59A, L59B and L59C, priced from $3,985,000, $5,985,000 and $10,000,000.  www.130william.com Below: The 130 William Adjaye Special Edition of the Aston Martin DBX, the maker’s first SUV

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COLLECTIONS // WELLBEING

A Fashion for

WELLNESS How do the famous and wealthy repair their health? Luxurious international clinics are at the forefront of diet and therapy treatments

BY JOHN RENWICK

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WELLBEING // COLLECTIONS

IMAGES © SHUTTERSTOCK

DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT The Mayr cure is based on the work of Dr Franz Xaver Mayr, an Austrian physician born in 1875. Through his work in a sanitorium and hydrotherapy centre, he developed theories about digestion and the rehabilitation of the intestinal tract, learning to massage patients suffering from severe constipation. He studied pathology, psychotherapy and dietetics, and in Naples and Rome he studied the physique of ancient statues and paintings, developing his own theories of diagnosis and treatment.

Mayr’s basic idea was that the modern diet is poisoning us, and that disorders beginning in the guy are caused by the system’s efforts to rid itself of these poisons. He connected his ideas with theories of politics, and said in an essay in the 1920s: “If we now survey the path that is to lead all of us, all peoples, to the greatest possible perfection of the body and spirit and thereby out of all misery and lack of peace to general prosperity and peace, we will have to admit that the general implementation of an expedient feeding of the people forms the gateway, as it were, which today alone is able to grant us access to this way out.”

So could the Mayr cure be the solution to a lot of our problems which we might ordinarily put down to stress, overwork or psychological disorders? By promoting the health of the microbiome – the colony

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“

To keep the body in good health is a duty… otherwise we shall not be able to keep the mind strong and clear Buddha

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W

hen the famous and wealthy need a little downtime to recover from their hectic schedules and demanding lifestyles, they require the ultimate in luxury and comfort along with their rest and recuperation. Increasingly, the trend is to book into an elite health spa in an exclusive area, and submit to a health regime intended to clear out bodily toxins and realign the emotional and spiritual centres.

One of the most popular regimes is the ‘Mayr cure’, a strict dietary routine which limits the subject to around 600 calories a day, and eliminates gluten in favour of lactose-free goat’s cheese, Epsom salts and water. Apparently the regime is so demanding that after about three days, subjects often have an intense emotional reaction. By the end of a week, though, it’s claimed that they will not only have lost weight, they will also have achieved a new sense of balance and self-worth.

of microorganisms which keeps our gut working properly – it’s said to be able to treat everything from bloating, fatigue after eating, cramps, constipation and mood swings to stress, migraines and skin rashes.

HEALTHY EATING One of the principles of the cure is that we not only eat the wrong foods – processed, gluten-filled, low-fat snacks – but we also eat them the wrong way. The Mayr cure teaches us to eat healthy, fresh, organic, alkaline foods, and to eat them slowly and thoroughly, chewing at least 30 times per mouthful. The cure also says that you shouldn’t eat after 4pm, a particular challenge for inveterate snackers.

The argument for this gut-cleansing principle isn’t complex – if you chew food more and eat slower, you digest it more efficiently and feel more full, so you are less likely to over-eat. The suggestion that the digestive system is ‘resting’ after 4pm may be harder to swallow.

Spas and clinics using the Mayr principles sometimes diagnose areas of dysfunction using techniques such as applied kinesiology.

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COLLECTIONS // Wellbeing

Let food be your medicine, and medicine your food Hippocrates

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“

In AK, different allergens such as lactose are applied to the subject, perhaps by dropping on the tongue, and a muscular reaction in the arm or leg is measured, suggesting a further course of treatment. While this may be controversial, certainly there’s nothing wrong with the Mayr principles of drinking plenty of water, getting lots of rest and enjoying therapeutic massages.

Those who endorse the Mayr cure, and they range from the Rolling Stones to Michael Gove, say that it is an effective way to lose weight, improve energy levels and improve spiritual balance. Many adherents take a 7-day course once a year, and have regular health consultations with the clinic afterwards. Some will take a 14 or even 21day course which is said to be life-changing.

Cold Cure But are there other ways to achieve some of the same results? Another exclusive form of treatment which has gained popularity in recent years is cryotherapy. As its name suggests, cryotherapy involves sessions of being exposed to extreme cold. It’s said to be good for muscular pain, joint disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, injury treatment, weight loss, inflammatory disorders, and even to stave off dementia.

Therapists have long used ice packs to treat muscle pain, the theory being that it improves blood circulation after the source of cold is removed. It’s often used topically to treat sports injuries, using ice or cold water packs. Some forms of benign skin lesion and even some low grade skin cancers such as basal cell carcinoma are sometimes treated by dermatologists using liquid nitrogen from a spray gun or probe.

But ‘whole body’ cryotherapy takes the principle a bit further, with the subject’s whole body except the head enclosed in a nitrogen- or electrically-cooled pod at

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temperatures as low as -80 degrees or even -110 degrees centigrade. In some cases the head is included in the treatment, so you use a sauna-like cryotherapy chamber, sometimes large enough for several people.

Whole-body cryotherapy is popular with sports stars, who believe it aids recovery from injury, and supposedly many of them have a free-standing cryotherapy chamber at home.

Cryotherapy is also applied to weight loss, where it’s supposed to improve metabolic performance, and chronic inflammation caused by immune system disorders. The suggestion is that by reducing chronic inflammation, whole body cryotherapy can help fight everything from arthritis, diabetes and depression to cancer and dementia.

reduCe anxiety There are several studies suggesting that chronic inflammation can lead to depression, so there is some support for the idea that whole body cryotherapy can reduce anxiety

and depression and improve mental health generally. A small 2008 study found that in a third of people with depression or anxiety, cryotherapy reduced symptoms by at least 50 percent. This was a much greater reduction than in people who did not undergo cryotherapy.

There’s also evidence that cryotherapy can improve skin conditions such as eczema, and that targeted cryotherapy on the neck may help to reduce the pain of migraine headaches.

There are many other fashionable therapies being practiced at exclusive spas and clinics all over the world; from IV therapy using injections of nutrients, electrolytes and antioxidants, to DNA genetic testing to help specify fitness, diet and medical regimes. But however effective they are, one thing is certain; anyone would benefit from the chance to get away from the stresses of everyday life, and relax in glorious surroundings with the assurance of premium levels of service and luxury. 

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BLACK BAG YOUR GLOBAL EMERGENCY MEDICINE SERVICE INDIVIDUAL ● KNOWLEDGEABLE ● DEPENDABLE A private emergency medical consultancy, Black Bag provides individuals and families with immediate care guidance, regardless of their location in the world.

F

rom the jungles of Colombia to the shores of Hong Kong, and all points in between, Black Bag provides 24/7 telephone access to an experienced, board-certified Emergency Medical Physician in the event you face a medical emergency far from home or in your hometown.

CHRISTOPHER SIDFORD, MD

When you hire Black Bag, you are hiring Dr. Chris Sidford and his team as your private, board-certified Emergency Medical Physician. Dr. Sidford has

more than 30 years’ hospital and private medicine experience, and his handpicked team is available by telephone 24/7 in the event you, your children, or your parents face a medical emergency.

A U.S. Navy officer, Dr. Sidford served as faculty member of the Emergency Medicine Residency training program and provided emergency medical support for NATO troops during amphibious operations at the Arctic Circle. Providing care in difficult and remote locations became the impetus for Black Bag Global Emergency Medicine.

Contact

For pricing, references, and additional information, please contact:

Chris Sidford MD Founder and Medical Director BLACK BAG csidford@emergencyblackbag.com 29 Water St. Newburyport, MA 01950 Office: 978-518-3203 Cell: 978-204-7211

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COLLECTABLES // WHERE TO SPEND IT

Where to

SPEND IT

From an a electric motorcycle to the best turntable ever, we offer you the most desirable luxury collectables and high-end fashion items

BY CHRIS JENKINS

1

WATCH AND LEARN DAEM’s Skull is part of a series of watches playing tribute to American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, who died in 1988, and whose artwork now fetches astronomical prices. The 3D skull artwork on the dial is based on an untitled work presented at his debut solo exhibition in New York, while the canvas strap is made with excerpts from Basquiat’s Undiscovered Genius painting. A 25-jewel Swiss ETA automatic movement powers the timepiece, which features a polished sapphire crystal, surgical grade stainless steel case, and leatherlined stitched canvas straps. Price is $1,250, with extra straps at $45. https://daemwatches.com

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3

MAM’s black silk face mask with rings and chain is designed for wear on every occasion. Compatible with all filters on the market, it comes in two sizes and three colours, black, grey and blush pink, with gunmetal, 18k gold or sterling silver chains and rings.

Using a filter inside the mask protects against pollution, smog, infectious diseases, pollen, and allergens. Along with the mask, you receive a filter pattern so that you can customize any filter you wish to add. With silk outer fabric, organic cotton inner and removable hypoallergenic fittingsl, it puts the epic into epidemic. Cost is from £109. https://mamoriginals.com

SCENT OF SUCCESS Captured in their round bottles resembling a magnifying glass, since 2004 the fragrances of Hermes’ Eau des Merveilles have claimed ‘the magical power to see the world from new and marvellous angles’. This year’s fragrance, L’Ombre des Merveilles, features the intense radiance of a chiariscuro fragrance, both woody and oriental. Ingredients include the sensuality of tonka bean and incense, emphasized by deep notes of black tea, with a dry, spicy olfactory note. The 100ml eau de parfum is £109. www.hermes.com

IMAGES © DAEM, HERMES, MAM, B&O, HARLEY DAVIDSON, SAT, TASCHEN, SHUTTERSTOCK

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BEHIND THE MASK

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WHERE TO SPEND IT // COLLECTABLES

6

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BORN TO BE MILD GOLDENEYE Bang & Olufsen’s Golden Collection features a luxurious new colourway for nine of the Danish audio company’s most popular and enduring products. From the modern design icon Beoplay A9 home speaker to the Danish audio company’s flagship active loudspeaker Beolab 90, the products in the collection are reimagined in colours and materials associated with warmth and lasting value: golden-hued aluminium, earthtoned textile, genuine lambskin, solid oak and Carrara marble.

The Beovision Harmony TV shown costs from £12,900. www.bang-olufsen.com

5

Harley-Davidson’s Livewire has all the cool of a Harley with the green credentials of an electric vehicle. The high-voltage battery provides a minimum of 235 km (146 miles) of city range, and it can be charged from a domestic supply or a public fast charge station for 80 percent charge in 40 minutes or 100 percent charge in an hour. The permanent magnet electric motor can produce 100 percent of its rated torque instantly and seven selectable Ride Modes electronically control the performance.

There are three colour options, and prices start at £28,995. www.harley-davidson.com

ROUND TABLE The SAT XD-1 from Swedish Analog Technologies is described by Stereophile magazine as ‘the best sounding turntable ever’. Created by a former materials scientist for the European Space Agency, it’s machined from a single block of magnesium-aluminium-silicon alloy, has a 26.5lb platter and a vacuum system to clamp the record in place, and is mounted on a massive isolation platform connected to outboard electronics. The XD-1 costs €150,000, and it’s an extra €50,000 and up for the titaniumand-carbon-fibre tonearm. www.swedishat.com

7 BAG FOR LIFE Ai Weiwei’s white bag takes its motif from a papercut he created as part of a Papercut Portfolio published by TASCHEN in 2019: Zodiac, his depiction of the Chinese zodiac cast in bronze and gold according to historical models.

Papercutting is a traditional Chinese art going back 2,000 years. The intricately cut papers are used as a story-telling medium in festivities, for prayers, and as everyday decoration. TASCHEN’s bag, in a limited edition of 2,500 copies, is in PVC with transparent inlay, measures 47 x 64.5 cm, and comes with a passepartout for framing.

Cost is £400. www.taschen.com

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COLLECTIONS // PROPERTY

streets of LoNDoN For all its detractors, London retains its irresistible attraction to culture-vultures and property buyers alike BY joHN RENwICK

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A person who is tired of London is not necessarily tired of life; it might be that he just can’t find a parking place Paul Theroux

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and even as people think more about ‘working from home’ and leaving the city life, they want to remain connected to the beating heart of the city. Areas like Stratford, Upton Park and Crystal Palace are already feeling the uptick.

It’s estimated that the capital will lead the UK housing market in the post-pandemic recovery, with house prices staying flat in 2021 while a national fall of -1.5 per cent is predicted, and London house prices expected to rise by more than a fifth over the next five years.

It’s expected that affluent families will lead a move to upsize to suburban neighbourhoods, while first-time buyers will head to the more affordable regeneration zones. But it looks like ultra-rich buyers will trigger the real recovery, starting in prime central London areas such as Mayfair, Marylebone, Knightsbridge, Belgravia, Kensington and Chelsea.

Driven by high net worth individuals from overseas, the high-price London market has always been something of a law unto itself.

Here, there’s no such thing as a downturn, and pundits forecast an almost immediate recovery, with multi-million pound properties selling quickly to people put off by overpricing in Paris, Hong Kong and New York. These are people to whom the end of the Stamp Duty holiday will be neither here nor there.

But of course the high-end market does not only benefit the overseas buyer, as economic activity trickles down into all of London’s boroughs – and the capital will still exert its pull, as it has done from the time of the Romans. 

IMAGES © ShuttErStock

espite the coronavirus pandemic and its chilling effect on worldwide economies, London seems to retain something of a ‘blitz spirit’, and nowhere is this more true than in the property market.

A thriving web of 33 individual boroughs, London is an incongruous mix of the old and the new, a patchwork of iconic landmarks and historical sites threaded through with the cutting-edge modernity of technology hubs and modern architectural wonders.

From Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who called London a ‘great cesspool’, to Lord Balfour who declared it ‘a splendid place to live in for those who can get out of it’ London has had its detractors; but the fact is that London property prices bounced back quickly after the first lockdown, and investment across the breadth of the City continues, with regeneration of once obscure corners prompted by its accessibility, cultural attractions and historical resonance.

The development of the Elizabeth Line, linking east to west, will prompt further growth,

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Only t: +44 (0) 20 7495 9580 london@sothebysrealty.co.uk

77-79 Ebury Street London, SW1W 0NZ

Get more space and still stay near to central London To move north of the river Contact Lee Koffman for prime north west London

St. John’s Wood | Hampstead | Belsize Park | Highgate | Primrose Hill | Little Venice

Lee Koffman Head of N/NW London Mob: +44 (0) 7710 469 156 lee.koffman@sothebysrealty.co.uk Instagram: leekoffman1

© 2020 Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC. All Rights Reserved. Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Each Office is Independently Owned and Operated. Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s International Realty logo are registered (or unregistered) service marks licensed to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates LLC.

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