Introduction

The art of collecting

‘To gather together from a variety of places or over a period of time’ is a definition of collecting and it serves to remind us of the role of Master Drawings in London, inasmuch that collectors, dealers and curators from all over the world join together for a few days to engage with a huge variety of drawings of different periods and many schools.

The desire to possess rare and beautiful things has a history as long as man and the interest in collecting drawings dates from the Renaissance. The majority of earlier collectors were themselves artists and their activities served as practical exercises in gathering working material as well as being acts of homage and we still follow on the paths laid down by Vasari, Rembrandt, Richardson, Hudson, Reynolds, Rubens, Lely, Lawrence, West, Fabre, Wicar and Poynter. The drawings found in these collections have over the years filtered into collections, both private and public, and the resonance of the roll-call of the associations of illustrious provenance such as Christina of Sweden, Arundel, Tessin, Jabach, Koenig, Oppenheimer, Resta, Somers, Baldinucci, Bellori, Mariette, Crozat, Devonshire, Goncourt, Rogers, Esdaile, Malcolm, Ellesmere, Heseltine, Robinson, Wellesley, Morgan, Sachs, Lehman, and Woodner continues to conjure up the romance of study, competition and acquisition as well as the sharing of opinions and enthusiasms.

The impetus, as well as the joy, of collecting is different in every case and it is fascinating to see the very many directions in which this particular passion can lead. With a drawing, one can directly engage with the most basic of intuitive reactions to our world, however, in turn, it can trigger some fairly basic atavistic instincts. Indeed it is the ‘sharing’ that makes the pursuit of drawings whether as a collector, dealer or curator so stimulating and rewarding. Although the competition can be stiff it is rarely aggressive and the joy (and sometimes the frustration) of the process and exercise of connoisseurship brings minds and eyes together in a stimulating and positive process. Friendships made with heads bent in admiration or puzzlement over a flimsy sheet of paper are amongst the most rewarding aspect of the relationship between dealer, client and curator: the process of learning, developing an ‘eye’ and defining an individual taste in partnership. The joy of going around our exhibitions this week is not only the discovery of fine things but the realization that each dealer approaches his subject in an entirely individual manner.

Commerce invariably intrudes in this high-minded pursuit of beauty and there is evidence that even that prince amongst collectors, Lorenzo de Medici, was not above looking at his acquisitions as investments. Whatever the stimulus to acquisition may be, it seems appropriate to end this introduction to Master Drawings Week in London with the words of Henry James in relation to a bowl that might, just as easily have been a drawing: She looked, holding it up in both her fine hands, turning it to the light. "It may be cheap for what it is, but it will be dear, I'm afraid, for me." "Well," said the man, "I can part with it for less than its value. I got it, you see, for less." "For how much then?" …The girl considered. "Then if it's so precious, how comes it to be cheap?" Her host meanwhile, at any rate, answered her question. "Ah, I've had it a long time without selling it. I think I must have been keeping it, madam, for you." This conjures up the perfect moment of matching a wonderful drawing with an ideal home.

Good luck and happy hunting.