Rachel Mercer

Ask the Expert: The Collector

In ROSA #6 (Autumn 2023), we were first introduced to the mysterious collector.

Rachel Mercer
Rachel Mercer, Strange Weather 2022. Oil on paper laid down on canvas, 52 x 72cm. © The artist

The collector’s tale

Our ROSA reader has been collecting modern and contemporary art for five decades. His collection includes works in different media by Bridget Riley, Elisabeth Frink, Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicolson, Duncan Grant, Sonia Delaunay, John Piper and Sidney Nolan, as well as pieces by contemporary and emerging artists. We asked him to tell us about his collection, and to offer us some insights on how to buy art.

What was the first artwork you bought?

In my early 30s I decided the time had come to buy something interesting for myself. The decision coincided with Bridget Riley’s first solo exhibition at the Hayward Gallery, in 1971. I was enthralled by her work and bought two of her suite of three screenprints, Coloured Greys. They represented her first move into colour from black and white. Sadly, I only bought two because at that time I could not afford all three.

How much did you pay, and what are they worth now?

I paid a few hundred pounds for the pair. About ten years ago my late wife spotted the third at an art fair and I picked it up for £2,200. Each piece currently fetches anything up to £12k. But that is just the vagaries of the market.

What guidelines can you give us on choosing a work of art to buy?

Only buy works that you like and want to live with. It is nice when visitors say they like something you have on the wall, but that is not the purpose of the exercise. Obviously nearly everyone is constrained by size and space, and what they can afford. That certainly applies to me. But if you take time and look hard you will find something to inspire you and give you great pleasure. Local galleries and art fairs are fertile grounds for exploration. The London commercial galleries nowadays cater mainly for the ultra-rich. At an art fair you can see a great range of work on show in one place, the dealers are always willing to discuss what they have on display, and there is every chance to negotiate over prices. And they are great fun.

What do you think is good value for money at present?

Multiple works have always been great value. In some circles a screenprint, lithograph or engraving is regarded as inferior to a single work, say on canvas or board. I completely disagree with that. The artist will have given every ounce of thought and inspiration into creating them that they have given to any single piece. When you see, written in pencil at the bottom of the print, the number – 3/75 for example – and the artist’s autograph, it’s exciting. You are right up close to the creator and their creative process. Recently I have also been looking at ceramics. There is a lot of fine work on the market which is highly affordable.

It is always hard to find space and work out how to install artworks. How do you hang your collection and make it all look good at home?

In my case it’s a painstaking process. First arrange the pictures around the room on the floor to see how they relate to each other. Then it’s ladder, tape measure, plumb line, pencil marking and the rest. New arrivals restart the whole process. But it’s worth the effort, trying to do full justice to someone else’s creation.

What is the most recent artwork you have bought?

A contemporary figurative work by Rachel Mercer, a young, and to my mind very talented, British artist. It’s oil on paper called Strange Weather, taken from life, depicting a young man in jeans languidly reclining in bracken in March. I was particularly struck by the very strong diagonal of the figure and the clever use of an unusual blue and beige palette. It hits me every time I walk into my living room.

Where are your Sussex art collecting hotspots?

Too many to number. The Moncrieff-Bray sculpture garden, just outside Petworth, is a must-see, as are many other galleries in the town centre. Sussex has some excellent small galleries with great bargains for the collector, especially for someone starting. Pallant House shop always has interesting works for sale over and above its current exhibition. I admire the works for sale with Emma Mason in Eastbourne. Open House festivals are always good to visit, for the refreshments as well as the art.

What puts you off buying art?

Overcrowded private views. Go back the next day. If the one you liked has gone, that’s life.