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A personal view 2: Peter

As a young student at the University of Glasgow in the late fifties, Peter was excited by the university's print collection. Because he thought it likely that he would not be able to afford paintings by major artists, he decided to collect prints by major artists whom he considered good printmakers.

For the last fifty years or so, Peter has studied the art catalogues and books that fill his home, gone to galleries and auctions and deliberated with his wife. Slowly, he has built up a black and white print collection that ranges from Picasso and Matisse to Freud to Emin and Langlands & Bell.

Blood: Tell me how you started collecting.

Peter: When I started work in London in 1961, I didn't have any spare income. I only started acquiring works from the mid-1960s. My interest in art started when I was as teenager. My original aim in collecting was to build a collection of major prints by key artists of the "modern" era. In the 1960s they could be bought at prices in three figures and I thought I might be able to buy one significant work every year or two. Sadly the prices kept ahead of my resources and I have had to modify my objectives somewhat. The prints are almost all black and white as I find colour less rewarding in the long run.

Blood: How did you define your taste?

Peter: There are certain periods that I consider critical, 1900-1910, and I would love to buy more works from them. Needless to say I only buy works that I enjoy and find stimulating.

Blood: How does each new piece change the collection as a body and give it momentum?

Peter: I like the idea of "momentum". I think it is important for a collection to be a living organism and grow with each piece. Now that I am retired it is infrequent that I can afford to add pieces. I have to depend on artists and galleries making works available in editions at reasonable prices- less than £1,000 or so. I would love to add another Freud. To buy one piece I had to sell a number of other works, including a major Richard Hamilton, a Richter and a multiple by Gilbert and George. So I am slightly frustrated but no doubt all collectors are, they can never acquire all they want.

Blood: That's where the collecting urge starts and why it is so addictive. This house feels so similar to your works. Even your biscuits are black and white! Do you feel that way as well?

Peter: We bought this house twelve or thirteen years ago and did it up in a rather minimalist style. One of our challenges was the large space in the living area. We needed a striking work for that wall and spent some time contemplating various ideas, including prints by Donald Sultan. I had wanted to add a Howard Hodgkin to the collection for some time and while he is primarily known for his colour, we did find a large B & W print at auction in '92 or '93. It fit the bill, but it is not one of his strongest works. We would like to upgrade one day. The works reflect primarily my taste, some my wife hates. My wife does not like Rachel Whiteread's multiple Herringbone Floor' because it is brown, not B & W. I have tried to persuade her that it matches the nearby woodwork. I think that my taste is somewhat austere, starting with my interest in what artists have achieved and can achieve in B & W. The greatest gap in the collection is Morandi, who possibly used B & W more creatively in his prints than any other 20th century artist.

Blood: You started out with B & W?

Peter: My first purchases were two unsigned and unnumbered coloured pochoir prints by Braque from Derrière le Miroir. They were disposed of when I was able to buy some rather better works in the late sixties by Hockney et al. I still have some works in colour, but I have found B & W to be more rewarding. The effects that can be achieved in the various B & W print media are very varied and stimulating. It also provided some coherence to the collection.