Christie’s is selling the collection of Tony Reichardt, a pioneering British art dealer in the 1960s and 1970s. Reichardt was an innovative independent Director of Marlborough Fine Art in London from 1961-1985. He was responsible for the Contemporary space they opened on Bond Street and for the development of their print gallery. In conjunction with this gallery he commissioned many of the most important works by leading Contemporary British artists, helping to create the upsurge in printmaking which became so significant and popular throughout the period.” across three sales in July 2013. Christie’s is offering the collection of works which will be offered in the Modern British Art Evening Sale on 10 July 2013 and 22 works in the Modern British and Irish Art Day Sale on 11 July 2013. A further 24 works will be included in the Modern British and Irish Art sale at Christie’s South Kensington on 11 July 2013. A name synonymous with British artists of the 20th century, Tony Reichardt’s collection features works by R.B. Kitaj, R.A. (1932-2007), Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, R.A. (1924-2005), Victor Pasmore, R.A. (1908-1998) and Lynn Chadwick, R.A. (1914-2003).
André Zlattinger, Senior Director, Head of Modern British Art, Christie’s London and Rachel Hidderley, Christie’s International Specialist and Director, Modern British Art: “Tony Reichardt has had a long and successful career as one of the pioneering art dealers of the second half of the 20th century. In 1958 he joined New Vision Gallery, Marble Arch, and after a period spent at Hanover Gallery in Mayfair, he joined Marlborough as a manager of the New London Gallery in 1961. In 1963 Tony opened Marlborough Graphics and in the 1970s he became Director of Marlborough Fine Art. Through the numerous exhibitions that Tony curated, he developed close relationships with many of the artists and the majority of the works in this collection were personal gifts. In 1985 he left the art world to begin a new life farming in Northern Queensland, where he currently lives.”
Tony Reichardt: “The 1960s at The Marlborough Gallery was an exciting time and it is only now when I look back I realise how extraordinary it was that people who would become stellar in their fields would wander in and buy stuff. The Beatles established ‘Apple & Co’ round the corner and John Lennon would come by. I gave him an ‘Apple in a Cage’, which seemed apt. I was at the exhibition of her work where he met Yoko Ono. Richard Attenborough was making 10 Rillington Place and buying up all the Brett Whiteley paintings on the John Christie murders. Lord Gowrie, Minister for the Arts, would discuss new acquisitions for official buildings while John Piper, with whom I had a lifelong friendship, became one of the favourites of the Royal family. After a year I was left to my own devices. I could take on any artists I liked and take control of the living artists that Marlborough dealt with at that time – Bacon, Piper and Sutherland. The first artist I took on was R.B. Kitaj”.
Eva Chadwick on Tony: “Tony Reichardt championed the British artists who were working in the fifties, sixties and seventies making their reputations but not promoted for the first-rate work they produced. My late husband Lynn Chadwick was one of Tony’s favourites along with Kitaj, Tilson, Jones, and Davies. He insisted that the gallery gave shows to them and when customers asked for his opinion he always recommended his ‘boysʼ(though some of them were in their late fifties and sixties). Tony was tireless in his efforts to further their cause.”
This collection is the culmination of twenty years involvement at the forefront of British Modernism and contains a representative selection of the most innovative artists of the 1960s and 1970s: Peter Blake, Allen Jones, Lynn Chadwick, John Davies, R. B. Kitaj and many more whose work has proved to be seminal. While this includes over 500 works of art in a variety of media, this online gallery focuses on original prints largely commissioned by Tony from Kelpra Studios. Editions of these works can be found in major public collections such as the Tate and MOMA. In addition to the graphic works featured here, a substantive collection of painting and sculpture by British and European artists of the time is available for loan or private sale.
Tony Reichardt Collection – Modern British Art, July 2013