In February 2020, before the pandemic took hold and changed the way of life as we know it, I and some colleagues at Gurr Johns were preparing for an exhibition of paintings by Rebecca Salter, the recently appointed President of the Royal Academy in London. The exhibition was to be held in the recently created gallery at Gurr Johns in 16 Pall Mall, in conjunction with Artuner, the innovative hybrid art platform for artists and collectors that was set up by Eugenio Re Rebaudengo, who has worked with Rebecca Salter on previous exhibitions. We were incredibly excited to have the opportunity of realising this project at a time when she was so much in the public eye.

In the lead up to the exhibition I was thrilled and honoured to meet Rebecca Salter when she came to view the gallery space. She was down to earth, friendly and engaged with the exhibition, such that it was a huge disappointment that the first lockdown in London meant that we had to postpone the show.

Rebecca Salter’s work is strongly influenced by the calligraphy and print making techniques that she learned in Japan between 1979 and 1985: I love the way that she uses line, light and texture in her work. My first encounter with her work was when I visited the British Art Fair at the Royal College of Art around 2012. Michael Bing, a former colleague of mine at Sotheby’s, and I, saw her work on Amanda Beardsmore’s stand. We had a minor squabble because we both wanted to buy, so we compromised and bought one each.  Michael had an incredible eye for new work which strengthened my resolve, then to my embarrassment, ever a man with an eye for a deal, he persuaded Amanda to give us a discount because we were buying two works. I have since followed her career, acquiring a couple of other works, including a beautiful oil on linen, again from Amanda Beardsmore, from the London Art Fair early in 2020.

I was delighted that Rebecca was voted President of the RA at around that time: never can such an appointment have been more deserved, and I very much hope that when life gets back to normal that the exhibition in Pall Mall will be able to take place.