Quotes from Alexander Gilkes

I was a rather tubby youngster, which was a complete surprise to my family.

I think when you're collecting, the best advice is just 'see see see see.' The more you get used to the nuances of the art world and what people are doing and whose opinion matters, the more you can tune your own collection and know that these are works that do count; these are artists that will be of relevance tomorrow.

There is such opacity within the art market. There's also an abundance of fraud and misrepresented goods, which leads to mistrust between buyers and sellers.

Unfortunately, chivalry seems to be on the decline, but let's hope that manners can remain important. I, for one, will certainly be an evangelist with it.

I always have my lucky gavel in case I have to do an auction on short notice.

Our gutsy view of the world is that with time, there will be three auction houses: two serving the upper end of the market and Paddle8, serving the middle market.

I once termed my sense of dress as 'urban farmer' and that became a perennial source of bullying from my friends, particularly my brother.

If I'm in the English countryside and get on my bicycle, I see what sort of strange inbred rural locals I can snap.

Auctions typically are an opportunity for you to be able to acquire what you're looking for at a lower price; typically, the auctioneer sets the opening price at much lower than the retail price and certain interest develops and as more people come in it drives the price up.

Our generation has become somewhat stripped of identity by the homogenizing effect of technology. So, more than ever, people want to project their own individuality.

I'm a bit of a vault of secrets. I'm a victim of English reserve, which is slightly in contrast to how I communicate when I auction.