It must help to be omni-visual if you work at Christie’s, especially if you’re one of its head honchos. The art auction house born in London in 1766 has become a super-specialization hotbed. Post-war contemporary, South Asian contemporary, Chinese masters, wine, books and manuscripts, Indian antique jewellery, signage and advertising, Impressionists, moderns—the categories under which they auction collectables suit the knowledgeable, evolved connoisseur as well as the pop lover. When David Linley, its UK chairman, says his strength is being that “omni-visual guy” whose most crucial role at the company is to educate collectors about the importance of collecting particular works of art in all these categories, you want to keep the conversation going. Which isn’t a difficult proposition when you meet 48-year-old Linley over a post-breakfast cuppa.
Artisan: Linley began his career as a bespoke furniture designer. Jayachandran / Mint
Linley came down to Mumbai recently—to meet Indian collectors and “would-be collectors”—for the first time since 1983, when he had visited Ladakh for three weeks with a camera in hand to capture its picture-postcard landscape. “I was a young, aspiring photographer.
Vogue UK gave me a young photographer of the year award and sent me to Ladakh for a project. I went back from India with a lot of inspiration for Linley, my then fledgling furniture label,” the chairman, clad in a crease-free, two-piece suit, recalls. His small build, soft manner of speaking and formal attire is perhaps a far cry from that young photographer.
After three levels of security checks, I make it to Shamiana, the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower’s coffee shop. It’s a sunny, unusually breezy February morning, and Linley is in a chatty mood. “The year 2006, when I came to Christie’s, was a very euphoric time to be part of the art world. The last three years have been the most exciting period in collecting history,” he tells me, sipping Darjeeling tea. One of my first, seemingly obvious questions—how are things different at Christie’s after the financial downturn—steers a long conversation to the new, recession-proof art collector, an English school for wood craftsmen and furniture design.
On 10 December, Linley’s team prepared for the Impressionist and Modern Art Sale in London with trepidation. The meltdown was snowballing, and they had rare works of Monet, Picasso and Matisse on the table. As the last lot went under the hammer, they were surprised. “It was a wonderful collection of inspiring beauty. There were fewer buyers in that sale, but those who bought went all out for each work that they liked. The prices more than held their own. This auction has convinced me that it is a moment of truth for the art world. The real collector with real taste is coming out, who is willing to pay prices for works that have special appeal to him or her, and to the world,” Linley says. This auction fetched a sum of £1.15 million (around Rs8.1 crore).