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| Mark’s turning heads with
great British art |
Mark Barrow’s entrance into the world
of art dealing was a step into the unknown, writes Mairi MacDonald
UNTIL four years ago he was running a courier company in Gloucestershire.
But last month Mark Barrow became the unlikely owner of Marylebone’s
newest gallery, specialising in modern British art.
Back in 2000, on the hunt for a change of lifestyle, Mr Barrow,
now 37, set his sights on the world of art dealing, and researched
its ins and outs before turning his back on his business.
Armed with one drawing by Keith Vaughan bought for £300 Mr
Barrow (pictured) set himself up as a dealer with own online gallery
trading in British art from the 1920s to the 1960s. A few years
later, with a stockpile of about 200 artworks and a bulging contacts
book, he left the West Country, headed to London where he was already
connected with artists and dealers such as those at the Cork Street
galleries, and eventually stumbled across some empty offices in
Chiltern Street.
His gallery, the Modern British Artists, opened on September 12
and an eclectic first exhibition of mixed artists was followed by
the current exhibition in the lower gallery of paintings by Roy
Turner Durrant, ‘Heads’.
Like other artists in Mr Barrow’s collection Durrant blossomed
in the mid-20th century, a period he values for its creativity and
craftsmanship. Mr Barrow, who lives in Wimbledon, uses the upper
gallery to display mixed collections by artists including David
Bomberg, Denis Creffield and John Copnall.
“Paintings of that time are very imaginative,” he says,
motioning to some impressive but sombre paintings on the wall.
“Post-war, resources were short and many artists didn’t
have the choice of materials there are now which explains why these
paintings are in gloomy browns. Under these circumstances artists
produced amazingly thoughtful works; they had to as they hadn’t
the materials to hide behind.”
Focused and driven, Mr Barrow missed out on his dream of going to
drama college after his A-Levels when the death of his stepfather
meant he had to work to help the family. He took a job as a canvasser
in Bristol and eventually started a delivery company. As a self-taught
contender and younger than most dealers by at least two decades,
Mr Barrow’s move into art dealing years later was a bold step
into the unknown.
“Being an art dealer is like being a second hand salesman,”
he says.
“You have to trust your eye when you are buying, whether it
is from the artist or an auction.”
“The art world is small and if you get a bad name it spreads
like wild fire. Sales often occur by word of mouth when people see
paintings in each other’s dining room and ask where it came
from so reputation is very important.”
Modern British Artists specialises in neglected artists from the
20th century who, according to Mr Barrow, have been ignored due
to fashion rather than lack of ability.
Yet he says a revived interest in this period has gained pace in
the last four years and things have changed.
“When this happens art gets more expensive and people naturally
start looking for unknown and neglected artists from the period
to invest in,” he explains, confident with the timing of his
new venture.
He credits buyers’ nostalgia for the not so distant past for
the surge in interest in the more traditional medium of painting,
and reasons: “We live in a period of history of social change
with no identity of its own – from about 1992 everything seemed
to go beige.”
It has, he argues, usurped the public’s interest in conceptual
art and the sensationalism triumphed by the Young British Artists
(YBAs) for whom he has little time. He adds: “Fashion is very
much dictated by marketing and unfortunately fashion rather than
quality can dictate artists’ success. The important thing about
art is craftsmanship and that comes from proper training and attention.”
It is early days for Mr Barrow and his assistant Jonathan Gooders,
a trained art restorer. But he is confident that his collection,
the central location and proximity to upmarket the restaurants and
boutiques of Marylebone will be enough to entice a steady flow of
buyers past the confines of Cork Street.
• Modern British Artists,
Chiltern Street, W1
020 7487 3500 |
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Give power to the people
POST-war, early 1950s Britain was still experiencing food rationing
and was a disillusioning place for English gourmands. The war had
destroyed the restaurant trade and, with few exceptions, post-war
eateries made the worst of a bad situation.
FULL STORY
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