A Message from the Seller
I had started to buy a small piece of art each time I had a new level of scholastic achievement or had received a scholarship of some sort. For example, my first purchase from The Art Emporium was a lovely drawing by Clarence Gagnon which I bought in 1973 to recognize my Ph.D.
Indeed, that notion of ‘rewarding myself ’ was truly at the core of all my major purchases. Each time I was promoted to a new position or received a significant financial award, I celebrated by purchasing one or more pieces of art.
I did not have a clear or well defined strategy to collect all of the Group of Seven or any other specific category of artists. I would simply walk into a gallery and within a couple of minutes I was able to identify a piece (or pieces!) that I wanted to live with. I was drawn by certain colours and works that soothed me or cheered me up. I did not ever want to feel challenged or shocked in any way as I had a significant overabundance of those sorts of experiences in my daily work life. All of my Klinkhoff pieces were originally shipped directly to my Greenwich home (my ‘principal’ residence at that point) as were all of the paintings from The Art Emporium.
I want to increase my support now, not after I have ‘popped off’, for a couple of family members and for my top priority charities. I would not have been able to attend university at all without the various bursaries, scholarships and fellowships I received. So I want to increase my support, in particular, for the bursary I set up at my alma mater. My executors, though very competent professionals, do not have any meaningful experience in selling works of art. I am therefore my own best ‘executor’ for this very important responsibility, as I have also always been my family’s key “realtor”.
Having attended a number of art auctions as an observer, I quickly concluded that this would never be a sensible option for me. I knew I needed a first class ‘partner’ to work with in selling this very special type of asset and was fortunate that I quickly found the best team in Canada - the Klinkhoff family.
— Art Collector, British Columbia, Canada