Cathy's Art Diary

Engaging live streamed lecture from The Charterhouse with Philip Mould looking at his life in art. Mould took 5 or 6 pictures to take us through his art dealing life from his early work with a genealogist buying pictures of names people and tracing their descendants through to a recent discovery of a portrait of Winston Churchill painted during the Blitz when it had been said that he didn’t do this. He talked about how the internet has changed his business making research easier as more archives go online however also how buying has become easier but also more dangerous. He told a story against himself of buying an Elizabethan portrait online which he realised had been 75% overpainted in recent times. He described the picture underneath as a “glorified pub sign”. He answered a range of questions from the live audience with much mention of “Fake or Fortune” and touchingly he seemed genuinely moved when given a gift at the end of a bowl made of part of a cherry tree in the grounds

Fascinating online discussion as part of the Masterpiece Fair online about how selling and purchasing older art and antiques has changes during lockdown and what we might learn from this. The event was well chaired by Anna Bray from the Art Newspaper and included collector, Katrin Bellinger; chair of the Masterpiece Fair, Philip Hewat-Jaboor; dealer, Philip Mould and Orlando Rock from Christies. They all outlined how they had adapted to lockdown including Philip Mould discussing his Art In Isolation videos, Philip Hewat-Jaboor talking about how the fair moved online and what they have learn from it and Orlando Rock looking at new techniques, such as augmented reality, being used by his auction house. I  was most interested to Katrin Bellinger saying she has bought cheaper things in lockdown or works she knew already and could trust. I loved he quote of “As a collector you need your fix”. She also discussed her collection’s website and how they have started to do a bit more curati

A fun series of videos by Philip Mould looking at pictures people had sent to him of themselves with art works in their homes following his first series of films from his own home “Art in Isolation”. There have been three films so far each focusing on a genre of art covering animals, landscape and portraits far. He uses the pictures to talk you through different aspects the genre. The pictures are beautifully filmed with close ups of peoples faces panning across to their art works. Most interestingly though it is a study of what stunning and eclectic art works people have in their homes.

Excellent series of short films made by the art dealer Philip Mould during the Coronavirus lock down. As of today (10 April) there have been 10 films all set in Mould’s beautiful 17 th century house and featuring works of art from his own collection. It has been delightful to watch the series develop as he and his son Oliver, the cameraman, learn new techniques and introduce little competitions. I love the appearances by Cedric, the whippet, especially the action shot in the opening credits which appeared in about episode 4. The introductory film gave you a history of the house and showed you two pictures from the time of its construction in about 1620. It’s lovely to hear a bit more about why Mould bought the pictures so there is a King Charles I portrait because he wanted a picture of the monarch of the time and a portrait of the owner during the Civil War which he found by chance shortly after he bought the house. I was delighted in episode 7 to discover a new cont