Old masters know best

Depth of knowledge still tells, with experienced dealers faring well at London Art Week

- Huon Mallalieu

THE drawings dealer Stephen Ongpin, chair of London Art Week, noted after the event that: 'Important older works come to life when seen and discussed in person, and art dealers remain the beating heart of the Old Master market; their scholarship leads to rediscoveries and brings fresh works to the market.' He is right on both counts --and the same applies in the wider market.

In my youth, the market was tribal: art historians, museum scholars, collectors, dealers, auctioneers all managed to look down on one another, not to mention the mere general public. There were exceptions, of course. In my own field of English watercolours, it was generally recognised that the dealer Anthony Read had the best 'eye' of anyone, followed in time by his protegé Andrew Wyld. David Carritt was unrivalled for Old Master discoveries, both during his time at Christie's and later as a dealer. Listening to such people and looking at things with them was as enjoyable as it was invaluable.

There are still scholars at auction houses, but dealers have the advantage in two respects: usually, they have more time to carry out necessary research into things that are not pre-catalogued or firmly attributed and they back their eye and knowledge with their own money.

The annual London Art Week gallery exhibitions (www.londonartweek.co.uk) offer a good stage on which to parade new discoveries. As the recent one was the first in person for a while, there was a great deal of hope and cautious expectation, which seems to have been justified. It was also testament to the persuasive power of COUNTRY LIFE: the bronze cast of Chopin's left hand by Jean Baptiste Clésinger (1814-83) (Art market, June 29) was one of the successes for the Ben Elwes Gallery, Maddox Street, W1. As did many others, the gallery attracted buyers and interest from British and American institutions.