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COLLECTOR:
NICHOLAS LOGSDAIL
First piece: 4 Colour Drawing
by Sol LeWitt, 1971
PRIVATART
icholas Logsdail founded the Lisson Gallery in
1967, when he was still an art student at the
Slade. A champion of conceptual and minimalist art,
the gallery helped to launch the careers of a new
generation of artists, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd and
Sol LeWitt among them. Logsdail’s keen eye for
emerging talent has proved crucial to the gallery’s
success, and with a roster of artists that includes Ai
Weiwei, Anish Kapoor, Tony Cragg and Marina
Abramovic, the Lisson is today considered one of the
world’s leading contemporary art galleries.
Th e fi rst pieces that I remember buying – and still have
– are some early drawings by Sol LeWitt, from his fi rst
solo exhibition at the gallery in 1973. On the back of
one, it says ‘not to be sold for more than $100’: he
believed art should be democratic, and anyone who
loved the work should be able to buy something. Today,
those pieces sell at auction for $10,000 to $20,000. Th e
other drawing was from the same exhibition and didn’t
cost much more; now, it’s probably worth $60,000.
Th e real excitement of being involved in
contemporary art, I think, is being able to meet the
Seventy
artists, to have that relationship with them. From the
start, I wanted to work with artists I could have real,
fi rst-hand knowledge of. Can you imagine being a
collector and meeting Cézanne, or Manet, or Modigliani?
But looking at art history, of course people did.
Th e best collectors buy out of recognition and love
for the work, not because they think they can double
their money. If you’re following the money, just as you
might follow the stock market when the prices are
going up, you’re almost always going to be too late.
And artists are not hedge funds or corporations that
you can trade in. Th ey are human beings, and some of
the few individualistic people left in our culture. Th ey
can reveal strange and mysterious truths. Th at’s what
makes art so beautiful and fascinating – and that’s why,
at the age of 67, I’m still running the gallery.
Collectors have asked me to sell those drawings,
but I’ve had them for a long time. Th ey’re important to
me symbolically; it’s not about money. Th ey still hang
in my home: one in the bathroom, the other in my
bedroom. Th ey’re very modest pieces, but that’s why I
like them. Th ey’re there to remind me not to be
grandiose or pompous.
IMAGE©TIMWHITE