Stuart Purcell is head of collectibles at Whyte's, 38 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2, one of Ireland's leading auctioneers of art and collectibles. If someone has a medal, a rare coin, an old banknote, an antique gun, a classic poster, a signed album or a historic document they want to sell, Whyte's can take care of it. Purcell's job is to bridge the gap between seller and buyer. Often the seller will know very little about an object and his job is to complete the story and present it to collectors, who can then compete for it at auction. He says working with collectibles is fascinating. "I love collectors, we have curiosity and enthusiasm in common and, almost without exception, I have found them to be extraordinarily generous with their knowledge."
What’s your background?
I grew up in Arklow, Co Wicklow, in the grey 1970s and went to boarding school at Newtown School in Waterford – where I tested the patience of the Quakers.
After school I started to work in the tourism and hospitality industry – first, as a tour guide in Britain and Ireland and then I got a job as marketing manager for Planet Hollywood, an American-themed restaurant in Dublin. One January, I realised I wanted a radical career change but I didn't know what career to change to. I was walking around St Stephen's Green one lunchtime, passed by Adam's saleroom and had my epiphany: I would be an art and antiques auctioneer. I had grown up with antiques in the family home and my mother was an antiques dealer who had a shop in Greystones. My only surprise was that it hadn't occurred to me before.
How did you get into the business?
I got back to my office and phoned Adam’s Auctioneers and asked to speak to the managing director, James O’Halloran. He took my call, kindly met me and gave me advice – suggesting that I get a job in the business and take the degree course in fine art valuation at the University of Southampton. Katie, my wife, was immensely supportive and I quit my restaurant job and started working as a porter in Adam’s Blackrock auctioneers in south Co Dublin and applied for the course. We had our first child, Adam, soon after I started the degree by correspondence, so it was full on. Fifteen years later, I am head of collectibles in Whyte’s, having worked as the saleroom manager in Adam’s Blackrock for seven years and then starting my own business, Orr’s Independent Fine Art Valuers. I’ve been with Whyte’s since 2014.
Career highlights?
The
Dublin Fire Brigade
ambulance log, which covered the period of the 1916 Rising may not be the most valuable item but it was one of the most compelling objects I have ever handled. It was probably the first written account of the Rising and listed each call-out as it happened. The vendor’s grandfather worked in Dublin Corporation and rescued the log from a skip as it was being dumped in an office clearance. It sold in Whyte’s in 2014 for
3,800 and was bought by Dublin City Council.
One of the really fascinating aspects of Whyte’s auctions is that they are made up of objects that have the power to connect you directly to a moment in history. For two or three years, I was TV3’s resident expert on an antiques slot on daytime television.
Viewers would come into studio with their objects and we would talk about them and later reveal their values. It was live TV and I loved it. That would be another highlight.
What do you personally collect and why?
I don’t really collect any one area, a little of what I fancy, really. I am regularly astonished by the range and quality of the collections some of our clients have assembled, often with quite modest outlay. I think that I’m missing the collecting gene. I think that having brief possession of the items in my care at work fulfils that need for me. I occasionally buy a piece of period furniture for my home. I love the solid, ancient quality of 18th-century mahogany furniture, which is relatively inexpensive at the moment.
What’s your advice to collectors/investors?
Look before you leap. All the great collectors are experts in their chosen fields. They didn’t start out as experts but they began modestly and built upwards, acquiring expertise as they went. Learn as much as possible about any object you are considering buying. Ask questions of the seller and search the web for similar examples that have sold in the past. Look and look again. Once you have bought the item, maintain the chain of provenance. Keep receipts and any supporting documentation safely.
What would you buy if money were no object?
I was recently re-acquainted with the wonderful Honan Chapel in UCC and its contents. It's best known for its Harry Clarke windows but they are just a small part of what was an Arts and Crafts design project. The fixtures, fittings, furniture, silver and even the priests' vestments were all designed and created as a single commission, all with a common design thread. I would patronise a library of decorative arts, designed in the architectural vernacular of today but using the best Irish craftspeople to create the structure, fixtures, and fittings: a secular Honan Chapel for the 21st century. That would be something worth leaving behind.
What is your favourite work of art and why?
Picasso's Guernica . It's the first modern painting that made an impression on me. I saw it in a school history textbook and was fascinated by it. I think it is the most powerful painting in the world.
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