Specialist Areas	Categories
	19th Century Abstraction Architecture Fashion Landscapes Nudes Photojournalism Portraits Still Life The 1960s Town & Cityscape More...

Blog

No-one knows who on earth we are or what we do

I had an interesting conversation yesterday with a nice woman who runs a gallery on the other side of town. I was suggesting to her that we should collaborate on a business project in the new year - one that focuses on marketing portraits of the 1960s and 70s, a specialty of both of our galleries. 'Hasn't everyone had it with these sorts of images? I mean, they're everywhere aren't they?' I had to concede that this sort of photography is so in vogue with certain types of galleries - partly thanks to us - that it is easy to think that the market is close to saturation.

A day in the life

Once in a while, as much for my own memory as anything else, I think i'm going to record a skeletal outline of my day at work. So, here is yesterday:

Woke early at 6:15, had breakfast of yogurt and banana (partly mouldy!) and got on the tube. Parted with heavily pregnant wife, HP, at Earls Court, and proceeded to fail miserably at a sudoku on the Piccadilly line.

Went straight to an 8am meeting at HQ gallery on Ryder St, for strategy planning and to discuss a few things. The summer has gone and things are now super-busy!

Struth mate, these pictures are good (or not).

As previously noted, London has recently upped the stakes in terms of photography shown in public galleries. So, during August, 3 big shows coincide – Eyewitness at the RA (already reviewed), Glamour of the Gods at the NPG, and Thomas Struth at the Whitechapel, plus numerous little shows and hangs here and there. This is all very pleasing.

Tackling one of the most common questions asked in the gallery

The following is an extract from a pamphlet I am producing about buying photographs, and is a work in progress...:

Won't a photographer just run off endless copies of his work, making my print worthless?

DIGITAL PRINTING

There seems to be an almost unstoppable surge towards digital printing these days in my industry. As a dealer in fine photographs, I am extremely sad to be witnessing, first-hand, the final death-throws of the commercial darkroom. The last practitioners are just eeking out a living, the last retouchers applying their extraordinary skills to an ever decreasing amount of prints. Labs are shutting, paper supplies are drying up as companies go bust or stop production, and skills are being slowly forgotten - at least in the world of commercial fine-art printing.

New York

I write this from New York, where I have spent the last week meeting photographers, galleries and collectors. As usual I have been struck by the businesslike and open minded attitude that everyone has here to the photography industry. There really is a feeling that, as the photography business is a small one, by helping each other - making deals, sharing stock, tips and even staff, we can all do well. It is a healthy, American attitude to business that I find refreshing. In the UK it is different, and I think we can all learn from the American model.

The Day Cornel Lucas Got His Lucky Break!

Word had got round that Lucas liked photographing women, often more than men. He thought they were more compatible with the camera – that they liked posing and loved seeing the results. One day he was walking through the studio and an American came up to him and said, “I’ve been told you’re Cornel Lucas and I would like to know if you’d like to photograph Marlene Dietrich”. Lucas was surprised but thrilled to be asked.

Masterpiece 2011

Just got back from going round Masterpiece 2011 in Chelsea. I was very excited to go for the first time - a proper art fair in London! However, I left feeling a little bit flat. I think it was mainly because the atmosphere was bad - the place was pretty empty on a sunny Friday afternoon, and all the dealers looked dozy and bored in their booths. I'm sure that, had I visited on one of the glitzy opening nights, I would have walked away wowed by the whole thing - the fair itself is a staggering bit of theatre.

Thoughts on 'Eyewitness: Hungarian Photography in the Twentieth Century' at the Royal Academy - 30/6/11

I've just come back from viewing the new show at the RA, which certainly comes as a welcome addition to the summer exhibition scene here in London. As you've probably spotted, we've hung a good number of Eastern European pictures to coincide with this show, so I was itching to get in and look around. On the whole, it is a fantastic show - I am thrilled, and quietly amazed, that the RA have devoted the Sackler galleries to photography like this. Here's hoping for a few more. Certainly the artists in the exhibition are worthy of the prestige that the RA brings.

The Eyes Have It - 25/6/11

We are in the middle of preparing our big show of work by Steve McCurry at the moment, as well as having a little fun on Facebook with a new page devoted to the best 20th century portraiture. Both of these have got us thinking about what it is that makes a good portrait. Clearly there are several things that come into play, but something Steve said in a Guardian interview at the weekend really drove home a major factor in producing portraits - it's all about the eyes.