This interaction with art has seriously altered my life. After all my gallery visits, catalogue thumbing, auction activity and clumsy negotiation, this selfish little pursuit has given me two disproportionate gifts. One is proximity to and communication with a beautiful object. The other is friends. Smart, funny, serious and open-minded friends.
Some people seem to be born with taste.
Such individuals seem to have a natal instinct for objects, art, words and, dare I say, fabrics. The singer Andy Williams has it, minus the fabrics part. One day in the 60s, with no background in art appreciation, Andy was driving down a street in Chicago and peripherally saw a painting in a gallery window. He drove a few blocks, turned around and went into the gallery and made some inquiries. Never having heard of the artist, Andy bought the painting.