Anthony d'Offay
Encyclopedia
Anthony d'Offay is a British art dealer, he closed his gallery - Anthony d’Offay Gallery - in 2002.
to a French
father, had begun dealing contemporary art in the late 1960s and with the closure of the Robert Fraser and John Kasmin
galleries became one of the pre-eminent art dealers in London operating from premises in Dering Street.
and represented Christian Boltanski
, Gerhard Richter
, Sigmar Polke
, Georg Baselitz
, Anselm Kiefer
, Gilbert and George
, Richard Long
, Jeff Koons
and Richard Hamilton
.
The last exhibition at the Anthony d'Offay Gallery, of Bill Viola
, had 50,000 visitors and helped fund Rachel Whiteread
's Monument (2001) in Trafalgar Square
.
In the early 1990s d'Offay moved into representing the Young British Artists
including Rachel Whiteread
and Richard Patterson and had a turnover of £35 million when to the surprise of the artworld it was announced in 2001 that he was closing the business. He sold the lease, and the premises are now occupied by the Haunch of Venison
gallery.
and the Tate Gallery
were in talks to acquire d'Offay's art collection, then valued at over £100 million. The collection was bought "for the nation" in 2008. Although valued at £125m, it was secured for just £26.5m – what d'Offay had originally paid for it – using funding from the National Heritage Memorial Fund
and The Art Fund as well as the Scottish and UK governments.
The collection is touring UK galleries under the name "Artist's Rooms." This involves the temporary loan of groups of works, each by a single artist, for display together in a room. There are 725 works making up 50 rooms by 25 different artists.
Life and career
D'Offay, who was born in SheffieldSheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
to a French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
father, had begun dealing contemporary art in the late 1960s and with the closure of the Robert Fraser and John Kasmin
John Kasmin
John Kasmin is a British art dealer who along with Robert Fraser promoted British and American Pop Art in the 1960s. He went to Magdalen College School in Oxford and then worked with the established London Art dealer Victor Musgrave. In 1960 Kasmin met David Hockney and when he set up his own...
galleries became one of the pre-eminent art dealers in London operating from premises in Dering Street.
The d'Offay gallery (1980 - 2002)
The Anthony d'Offay gallery opened in 1980. D'Offay was the main agent for Joseph BeuysJoseph Beuys
Joseph Beuys was a German performance artist, sculptor, installation artist, graphic artist, art theorist and pedagogue of art.His extensive work is grounded in concepts of humanism, social philosophy and anthroposophy; it culminates in his "extended definition of art" and the idea of social...
and represented Christian Boltanski
Christian Boltanski
Christian Boltanski is French sculptor, photographer, painter and film maker.-Life and work:Having no formal art education, he began painting in 1958. Nevertheless, he first came to public attention in 1960 with few short films and publication of several notebooks...
, Gerhard Richter
Gerhard Richter
Gerhard Richter is a German visual artist. Richter has simultaneously produced abstract and photorealistic painted works, as well as photographs and glass pieces, thus undermining the concept of the artist’s obligation to maintain a single cohesive style.- Biography :Gerhard Richter was born in...
, Sigmar Polke
Sigmar Polke
Sigmar Polke was a German painter and photographer.Polke experimented with a wide range of styles, subject matter and materials. In the 1970s, he concentrated on photography, returning to paint in the 1980s, when he produced abstract works created by chance through chemical reactions between paint...
, Georg Baselitz
Georg Baselitz
Georg Baselitz is a German painter who studied in the former East Germany, before moving to what was then the country of West Germany...
, Anselm Kiefer
Anselm Kiefer
Anselm Kiefer is a German painter and sculptor. He studied with Joseph Beuys and Peter Dreher during the 1970s. His works incorporate materials such as straw, ash, clay, lead, and shellac...
, Gilbert and George
Gilbert and George
Gilbert & George are two artists who work together as a collaborative duo. Gilbert Proesch and George Passmore have become famous for their distinctive, highly formal appearance and manner and their brightly coloured graphic-style photo-based artworks.-Early life:Gilbert Proesch was...
, Richard Long
Richard Long (artist)
Richard Long is an English sculptor, photographer and painter, one of the best known British land artists. Long is the only artist to be shortlisted for the Turner Prize four times, and he is reputed to have refused the prize in 1984...
, Jeff Koons
Jeff Koons
Jeffrey "Jeff" Koons is an American artist known for his reproductions of banal objects—such as balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror finish surfaces....
and Richard Hamilton
Richard Hamilton (artist)
Richard William Hamilton, CH was a British painter and collage artist. His 1956 collage, Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?, produced for the This Is Tomorrow exhibition of the Independent Group in London, is considered by critics and historians to be one of the...
.
The last exhibition at the Anthony d'Offay Gallery, of Bill Viola
Bill Viola
Bill Viola is a contemporary video artist. He is considered a leading figure in the generation of artists whose artistic expression depends upon electronic, sound, and image technology in New Media...
, had 50,000 visitors and helped fund Rachel Whiteread
Rachel Whiteread
Rachel Whiteread, CBE is an English artist, best known for her sculptures, which typically take the form of casts. She won the annual Turner Prize in 1993—the first woman to win the prize....
's Monument (2001) in Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
.
In the early 1990s d'Offay moved into representing the Young British Artists
Young British Artists
Young British Artists or YBAs is the name given to a loose group of visual artists who first began to exhibit together in London, in 1988...
including Rachel Whiteread
Rachel Whiteread
Rachel Whiteread, CBE is an English artist, best known for her sculptures, which typically take the form of casts. She won the annual Turner Prize in 1993—the first woman to win the prize....
and Richard Patterson and had a turnover of £35 million when to the surprise of the artworld it was announced in 2001 that he was closing the business. He sold the lease, and the premises are now occupied by the Haunch of Venison
Haunch of Venison
Haunch of Venison is a commercial art gallery founded in 2002 in the West End of London. The gallery represents leading contemporary artists with branches in London, Berlin and New York.-History:...
gallery.
Artist rooms
In 2006, it was announced that the National Galleries of ScotlandNational Galleries of Scotland
The National Galleries of Scotland are the five national galleries of Scotland and two partner galleries. It is one of the country's National Collections.-List of national galleries:* The National Gallery of Scotland* The Royal Scottish Academy Building...
and the Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
were in talks to acquire d'Offay's art collection, then valued at over £100 million. The collection was bought "for the nation" in 2008. Although valued at £125m, it was secured for just £26.5m – what d'Offay had originally paid for it – using funding from the National Heritage Memorial Fund
National Heritage Memorial Fund
The National Heritage Memorial Fund is a non-departmental public body set up under the National Heritage Act 1980 in memory of people who gave their lives for the United Kingdom....
and The Art Fund as well as the Scottish and UK governments.
The collection is touring UK galleries under the name "Artist's Rooms." This involves the temporary loan of groups of works, each by a single artist, for display together in a room. There are 725 works making up 50 rooms by 25 different artists.