James Butterwick ( born James Butterwick , b. September 9, 1962 ) - British art dealer , gallery owner , collector . He specializes in Russian art of the 1880-1920s.
| James Butterwick | |
|---|---|
| James butterwick | |
| Date of Birth | September 9, 1962 (56 years old) |
| Citizenship |  Great Britain |
| Occupation | art dealer , gallery owner , collector |
Content
Biography
Comes from an influential English art family. James Butterwick's grandfather, one of the most famous silver experts in the world, was considered the best English silver specialist and was one of the directors of the Sotheby's auction house. At Eton College, where James Butterwick later studied, his grandfather taught Latin and Greek. The grandfather's collection, which included paintings, books and silver, was partially transferred to his daughter, the mother of James Butterwick. Butterwick's godfather, with whom he talked a lot, was president of the Sotheby's in New York and also had a large collection. James's parents supported his interest in art and collecting [1] [2] .
In the years 1976-1980, James Butterwick studied at Eton College , then - at the Faculty of Arts of the University of East Anglia in Norwich . In 1982-1986 he graduated from the course on the history of art and the Russian language of the University of Bristol [1] . A student of the University of Bristol became interested in Russian literature [3] .
In 1985, he was sent from the University of Bristol for a six-month internship in Minsk and Pyatigorsk , after which he finally decided to engage exclusively in Russian art [3] .
In 1985, I first came to the Soviet Union - I arrived for an internship in Minsk, went to a local museum and saw a lot of magnificent paintings. Then he thought that in the West no one was fond of this direction, and upon returning to Britain he began to study Russian art of the late XIX - early XX centuries [4] .
In 1994 he moved to Moscow [5] . Subsequently, he returned to England, but at least twice a year he happens to be in Russia [4] . In recent years, it has expanded its activities to Kazakhstan as well [3] .
Outside of Russia there were few works of this period, and in 1994 I moved to Moscow. He worked in the art market as a dealer, it was an incredibly interesting time and a crazy business. Presidents of corporations and banks bought from me. In the 1990s, Russia was a free country, far less hypocritical than Britain. But nevertheless, laws are more or less observed in England, and I preferred to return there [4] .
How an art dealer forms private collections [5] .
The selection of works is not determined by my personal preferences, I have a cold-blooded view of things. Art dealers often say they choose with their hearts. This is not true. It is necessary to sell what is in demand, otherwise it makes no sense to do business [4] .
Butterwick’s personal collection includes the works of Mikhail Vrubel , Mikhail Larionov , Natalia Goncharova , Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin , Boris Grigoriev , Alexander Volkov , Alexander Bogomazov and others. Works from the personal collection of Butterwick participate in major museum exhibitions [5] .
There was a time of purely collecting, contemplation. And once in Moscow I was offered a picture of Vrubel, too expensive for me. A portrait of his psychiatrist on the background of the icon, a unique thing. His last picture. In 1995, she was asked for 60 thousand dollars. Inexpensive. I did not sleep at night, thinking about this work, about the sources of funds for its purchase. From that moment I came to the conclusion that I will become both a collector and a dealer. I am ready to part with almost any picture from my collection when there is the right offer [6] .
In recent years, Butterwick became interested as a collector of graphics of Soviet non-conformism of the second half of the XX century [6] .
In 2007, James Butterwick set up a private museum in Moscow [3] .
According to the editors of the Russian site OpenSpace.ru (now Colta.ru ), James Butterwick is "one of the most respected specialists in Russian art of the 1880-1920s in the West" [7] .
Family
Wife, three children [3] .
Participation in creative and public organizations
- Member of the Russian Society of Private Collectors (since 1994) [5]
- Member of the International Confederation of Antiques and Art Dealers of the CIS and Russia (since 2008) [5]
- Member of the Society of London Art Dealers (since 2013) [5]
James Butterwick on Collecting Russian Art
| Auctions of Russian art were in the 50s, 60s, and 80s. However, the turnover then was very small - about 60 thousand pounds. A trifle compared to the impressionists. With the arrival of Russian buyers in the Western market, prices, respectively, increased markedly. The first buyers of Russian art were in 1993. The world's most famous collector of Russian art, Mr. Aven , began to buy just in 1993. The collection of Peter Aven consists exclusively of works from the late 19th - early 20th century. This is the most interesting period of Russian art: the entire avant-garde , Goncharova , Larionov , Tatlin . Aven possesses key paintings of precisely these authors [6] . |
| Distrust of professionals in the field of antiques is fueled by stories of corrupt experts who are so fond of fanning the press. But in Russia there are enough specialists who did not discredit themselves in any way [4] . |
| In the West, there is no such thing as a “expert opinion” by a museum owner, without which it is impossible to sell anything in Russia. The market there is regulated by two organizations: Sotheby's and Christie's . There are several auction houses, but there is no one big brand [4] . |
| In my practice there was a fantastic example. One reputable British bank invited me to evaluate the collection of a major Russian collector. This man bought twenty canvases of Russian masters of the beginning of the century: Lentulov , Popova , Chashnik and others. And absolutely all of them turned out to be fakes. In particular, Kandinsky’s work, a variant of the painting from the Tretyakov Gallery , with all the necessary conclusions from corrupt experts, worth two million dollars. I say to the collector: “It didn’t occur to you that a real one would cost forty to fifty million?” He answered me: “No, everything is possible in Russia.” But it was enough for him to make one call - I do not ask for money for an examination and even by telephone I can say that this thing is left [4] . |
Bibliography
Interview
- Mukanova Assel. Astana is worthy of the Louvre // Kazakhstanskaya Pravda . - December 22, 2007. (inaccessible link)
- Efremov Nikolay. James Butterwick: The art market is now quite old // New Opening Day. - April 30, 2011. Archived March 1, 2014.
- Guide to the antique market. James Butterwick // Dog.ru. - April 2, 2013.
- Berezovskaya Alena . Butterwick and Pinchuk at breakfast with Berezovskaya // Observer. - July 4, 2013. Archived on March 6, 2014.
Articles
- Fake Goncharova from foreign monographs penetrated the art market // RIA Novosti . - March 15, 2012.
- Anichkina Marina. Opening of a unique exhibition from Viled in Almaty // Season. - October 21, 2013. Archived on March 5, 2014.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 James Butterwick at the Antique Salon website
- ↑ Efremov Nikolay. James Butterwick: The art market is now quite old // New Opening Day. - April 30, 2011.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 Mukanova Assel. Astana is worthy of the Louvre // Kazakhstanskaya Pravda . - December 22, 2007. (inaccessible link)
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Guide to the antique market. James Butterwick // Dog.ru. - April 2, 2013.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 James Butterwick on the Tretyakov Gallery website (unavailable link) . Date of treatment February 25, 2014. Archived March 5, 2014.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Berezovskaya Alena. Butterwick and Pinchuk at breakfast with Berezovskaya // Observer. - July 4, 2013. Archived on March 6, 2014.
- ↑ Frieze Anna. “Time to collect ...” in Tsaritsyno // OpenSpace.ru . - June 19, 2008.