I'm a big believer in manners and respect: that one should never do to another what you wouldn't wish for yourself.
Alexander Gilkes
In Europe, there is a lower instance of startups because there's a permanent fear of failure. Everyone fears failure because it is this permanent black mark against your name, whereas in the U.S., failure seems to be par for the course.
I just love the idea of being able to have a place where friends and family can meet, where you can raise everything from chickens to llamas, and, you know, have an artist residency.
We want as best as possible to encourage emerging talent and galleries by their inclusion on Paddle8. Our exhibitions help bring interesting new works on the platform. We have to be agnostic in that respect and the galleries themselves have complete carte blanche as far as what they include on the site.
Artists will always depend on the brick-and-mortar ecosystem to establish authority and context.
Auctions typically are an opportunity for you to be able to acquire what you're looking for at a lower price; typically, the auctioneer sets the opening price at much lower than the retail price and certain interest develops and as more people come in it drives the price up.
I once termed my sense of dress as 'urban farmer' and that became a perennial source of bullying from my friends, particularly my brother.
We're big believers that people can learn to collect through the eyes of great collectors.
There is such opacity within the art market. There's also an abundance of fraud and misrepresented goods, which leads to mistrust between buyers and sellers.
I always have my lucky gavel in case I have to do an auction on short notice.
If you're trying to learn how to collect art, the key is getting access to insider opinions, and we pride ourselves on working with the most relevant artists and the collectors with the most authoritative voices.
There is a heavy leaning to try and extract information from me, and I always have to clamp down.
I was a rather tubby youngster, which was a complete surprise to my family.
I spent lots of time on drama, music and art.
If I'm in the English countryside and get on my bicycle, I see what sort of strange inbred rural locals I can snap.
A great friend and mentor, Simon de Pury, invited me to be auctioneer at Phillips de Pury, which was a great honor.
I think when you're collecting, the best advice is just 'see see see see.' The more you get used to the nuances of the art world and what people are doing and whose opinion matters, the more you can tune your own collection and know that these are works that do count; these are artists that will be of relevance tomorrow.
My father is someone I've always looked up to as the ultimate example of chivalry and humility, and someone who's just deeply kind and empathetic and selfless.
If I find an item of clothing I like, I tend to buy it in multiples.
I am never without my gavel, which I bought from an antique shop in Burford, in the Cotswolds.
I'm a bit of a dynamite fisherman when it comes to cooking as I don't have the patience, but I am a huge foodie.
In terms of wedding gifts, I like to buy people experiences.
Unfortunately, chivalry seems to be on the decline, but let's hope that manners can remain important. I, for one, will certainly be an evangelist with it.
My dream, dream acquisition would probably be a Twombly chalkboard. I've been fortunate to see one or two in a private context, and I think it's just sort of quintessentially brilliant, timeless, modern.
Our gutsy view of the world is that with time, there will be three auction houses: two serving the upper end of the market and Paddle8, serving the middle market.
We want to ensure works are placed with people who collect responsibly.
I feel a strong connection to water, so, no matter the time of year, I always go for a swim.
I'm the son of a doctor, and the key to working in the art world is to have boundaries of discretion.
Celebrity is not something I consciously pursue.
I respect people's privacy.
I'm a bit of a vault of secrets. I'm a victim of English reserve, which is slightly in contrast to how I communicate when I auction.
My brother and I have always had a great interest in people and building relationships. I probably have my parents to thank for that.
Our generation has become somewhat stripped of identity by the homogenizing effect of technology. So, more than ever, people want to project their own individuality.
What you collect is the ultimate impartation of who you are. It's the archive of your identity - it's what you leave behind.
I started my career at LVMH and then I joined Phillips de Pury under the tutelage of Simon de Pury as second auctioneer and head of marketing.
I remember being led to a shed by my father for the unveiling of a beautiful bicycle, equipped with stabilizers, on Christmas Day. I must have been four or five and realized that this was my first ride into independence.
My father discovered that our family had made long-case clocks in Warwickshire in the early 18th century. He managed to track down a fine example through an English antiquarian and horologist and gifted it to me for my 30th birthday.
I was given a life-size iron sculpture of a heron by a godparent. It was so poorly made, that it looked more like a pterodactyl and was so unbalanced that it would continue to topple over and create huge divots in my bedroom floor with its sharp beak.
I was given an eight-foot painting on a luminous yellow background as a parting gift when leaving Paris in 2008. I did not dare take it with me to N.Y.C. and understood that the cost of shipping would have far outweighed the cost of the work.
