This is the fourth part of our series on the experts’ experts, in which we spoke to two dozen members of the Country Life Top 100 about the artisans, dealers and writers whose work and wisdom have played a huge part in their careers. The previous instalments saw them name the greatest craftspeople working in Britain, the best design books and the best antique dealers in the country.
Portland Gallery, London SW1 (www.portlandgallery.com), represents the most talented range of artists and I enjoy collecting pictures from there.
Butter Wakefield
Thackeray Gallery, London W8 (www.thackeraygallery.com), has an individual collection of works by living British artists, more affordable than most, curated by enthusiastic owner Sarah Macdonald-Brown. I always want to find a little space to house another work by one of her artists.
Kit Kemp
There are horses for courses, but — for someone who understands the balance between domesticity and connoisseurship — I admire Jenna Burlingham in Hampshire (www.jennaburlingham.com). She shows great examples of established artists on well-chosen background colours.
Edward Bulmer
(Image credit: Milo Brown for Jenna Burlingham)
Josh Lilley in London W1 (www.joshlilley.com) represents two of my favourite contemporary artists: Nick Goss and Gareth Cadwallader. For something more affordable, I love prints and paintings by artist Gianni Notarianni (www.gianninotarianni.com).
Tom Turner
I always stop in to see what’s on show at Piano Nobile, London W11 (www.piano-nobile.com), a gallery specialising in 20th-century British art.
Mungo Adam-Smith, Ian Adam-Smith Architects
More a gallery than a dealer, Hauser & Wirth in Bruton, Somerset (www.hauserwirth.com), is always inspirational.
Tom Balch, Rose of Jericho
Local antique shops and art galleries near our studio in Tetbury, Gloucestershire, are a constant source of inspiration. My latest purchase is from Trilogie Antiques (@trilogieantiques) — a lovely Victorian portrait in a primitive style that is full of charm.
Sean Symington
Josh Darby from Browse & Darby, London SW1 (www.browseanddarby.co.uk), specialises in British and French paintings, drawings, prints and sculpture.
Craftspeople
The team at the post-war and contemporary gallery Lyndsey Ingram, London W1 (www.lyndseyingram.com), has a brilliantly collaborative approach, finding some very special pieces for our projects.
Isabella Worsley
Jenna Burlingham (www.jennaburlingham.com) has wonderful art.
Libby Russell, Mazzullo + Russell
Philip Mould (www.philipmould.com) for his work promoting and popularising Cedric Morris’s flower paintings, doing so much to bring them to the greater attention they deserve.
Rupert Golby
Plants and the Shrake Pot by Cedric Morris, displayed at Philip Mould and Company.
(Image credit: Cedric Morris (1889-1982) / Philip Mould & Company)
Damian Delahunty in London W1 (www.delahuntyfineart.com) is an expert in contemporary art.
Christopher Lawler, Johnston Cave
Art consultant Rebecca Gordon (www.rebeccagordonart.co.uk) familiarises herself with the projects she works on, spends time understanding her clients’ tastes and brief and then joyfully helps them build a collection.
Bunny Turner, Turner Pocock
There is always something beautiful to be found at Daniel Katz Gallery in London W1 (www.katz.art), which is known for offering works of art from antiquity to the 20th century.
Guy Oliver, Oliver Laws
The owners of La Galerie Cotignac (www.lagaleriecotignac.com) in Provence, France, have a great eye for decorative and affordable art. London-based Guy Morrison (www.guymorrison.com) is a fine-art dealer and agent who buys and sells privately for you.
Angela Collins, Angela Collins Garden Design
Georgia Stoneman in Somerset (www.georgiastoneman.com) is wonderful for modern and contemporary British pictures and sculpture, and Charlie Porter at Tat London (www.tat-london.co.uk), is great for interesting 20th-century oils that won’t break the bank.
Rupert Cunningham, Ben Pentreath Studio
Willoughby Gerrish, London W1 (www.willoughbygerrish.com), has an amazing mix of 20th-century British and more traditional art. London-based Cramer & Bell (www.cramerandbell.com) specialises in sourcing art, always finding incredible pieces.
James Thurstan Waterworth, Thurstan