It should be no surprise therefore that depictions of Hell, complete with scenes of fire, monsters and the damned should prove so popular at auction. The Harrowing of Hell, in the sale of Old Master Paintings at Christie’s, King Street on 30th April (lot 8), was no exception. The imagery of devils and dragons, combined with the more hopeful image of Christ delivering the souls of the righteous from Limbo, proved irresistible for a number of bidders and the picture soared to a hammer price of £85,000, almost three times the low estimate.

The exhibition, which ran from 18th February until 16th May, consisted of a series of highly finished mythological and allegorical drawings by Michelangelo, many of which united with The Dream from Courtauld’s permanent collection for the first time. Although the subject matter of The Dream is unknown, according to Dr Buck the work is about the “celebration of beauty”, which can equally apply to the overall exhibition

There are many features to note about these paintings which could fill many pages, but one element that has fascinated me about these two sales is the apparent strength of motivation, rationale and commitment of the Collector’s themselves (Brody and Crichton). Is there, in fact, a common thread or bond between these apparently unconnected and diverse collectors (in terms of genre)? In a rather obvious way, I believe that Art Collectors combine a variety of strong motivations that drive their Collections ever onwards over a number of years, all with varying levels of sophistication.

These features include hopefully, first and foremost, a passion and love of Art in general and/or a certain genre, but also competition (with family, business associates, friends, other Collectors),compulsiveness, philanthropic qualities, intellectual aspects, ego (including, from my experience, a selflessness or lack of ego too), and many more. What I love about both Crichton and Brody as Collectors, and that also connects them as “exceptional” collectors, is that they felt they had no choice in the process of acquisition – they became utterly absorbed. Price and other criteria were relegated to peripheral considerations (because their budget allowed it to be so) against the primary and primal instinct of possession and compulsion to own, due to an almost physical need.

Take the wonderful quote that we noticed from Christie’s catalogue that highlighted how the owner of the Picasso, Mrs Sidney F Brody, first begun collecting:

“The Collection began in earnest with a Henry Moore sculpture placed under the Christmas tree….by then I guess we were hooked“. Apart from the fact that my Christmas tree has never had a Henry Moore beneath it for me (perhaps though I have never been good enough and Father C really does know all??!!) what I find interesting is the word “hooked”. Collectors often used this word as if there was no choice thereafter – they have become addicts.

Similarly, these works, once acquired, become a foundation and essential part of the very existence of these collectors. A quote from Sherri Crichton, in the catalogue, states: “The Flag was Michael’s favourite object. It was the centrepiece of his art universe. Michael always wanted to share his art and paintings ….. but this he wouldn’t let out of the house”. This quote reminds me of how one talks of possessive husbands or the way children fixate on a certain toy or teddy bear. 

Collecting Art is like no other pastime or activity in that it can become a core, all-consuming passion (or obsession). It rewards the Collector in an utterly unique way. Certainly there are different types of people – some will never understand this obsession. That is not a criticism, simply an observation. The collector need not necessarily be particularly wealthy in order to derive this pleasure. Whatever works, of whatever financial value, are acquired these works become “friends” that we live with and love but also, as with friends, we can have “bad patches” or even cease the friendship altogether. The ideal Art Collection, in my view, should ebb and flow in the same way all the other aspects of our lives do. The key here is of course that Art bought with passion by an “engaged” buyer will almost certainly always sell far better in the future than much of the financially motivated acquisitions that we have seen more and more of over the last decade.

Many people that I know think that I, and my colleagues, have “great” jobs but frankly don’t really understand why we do what we do. Without being too precious, what they do not necessarily understand is that for a lot of us, we don’t really have a choice. In a similar way to artists, poets, musicians and, of course, Collectors, we have no choice. Personally, being the son of an artist and having briefly aspired to be an artist myself, my job as an adviser has an element of compromise, but there never has been nor, I suspect, will there ever be, a wildly different career calling - I suspect that this is the case with all my colleagues at Seymours and elsewhere in the Art world too. Of course, it may simply be that other professions may not consider us suitable!