Antiques

Auction house owner’s life has been

Auction house owner Michael Dark has enjoyed a life as varied as the lots in his saleroom – with roles as diverse as lobster fisherman and model. Perhaps it was the ten different schools in eight years he attended as an RAF officer’s son that created his need for variety. The longest he attended one school was Colfox, where he studied aged 12-16. From there he attended art college in Brighton before becoming a potter with his own studio in Gloucestershire, then a teacher/art therapist in London and Brighton. His next move was to become a market stall holder in Brighton and Bermondsey, then an auction porter and lobster fisherman in Newhaven before becoming an antiques dealer with two shops in Brighton’s North Lanes. He was also a part-time model, appearing not only in catalogues and advertisements, but also featured on a Bristol double decker bus! His final role before opening his own auction house was as an antiques sair organiser and show promoter for an advertising agency. Twenty-five years ago he opened his own auction house and hasn’t looked back. Now aged 70, he still enjoys the tension of the saleroom and intends to “carry on until the gavel falls”. He still takes part in numerous other activities, completing the Three Peaks Challenge three years ago and immersing himself in books, cooking and watching the rugby. He said: “My favourite antiques are books, ephemera, photographs, First and Second World War items, kitsch, tribal art, folk art, American painted furniture and antiquities. “Running an auction is all consuming. It’s exciting –the thrill of the chase, discovering unique items and displaying them for sale. It’s worrying, with P A T (pre-auction tension and post-auction tension). “But it’s satisfying and rewarding when your successful marketing and research lead to a good price being obtained for the vendor – and for the auction house of course. “Every month we see something different and we handle beautiful and strange objects. “It’s a learning curve – not just about history, artists’