Yesterday morning the inspiring workshop The Magic of Drawings: 50 Years of the Maida and George Abrams Collection took place in the MECC, the venue that hosts The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF). The workshop was only open to Patrons of CODART and others who are seriously considering becoming a benefactor of CODART.

The Maida and George Abrams Collection is among the finest private collections of seventeenth-century Dutch drawings in the world. George Abrams, who formed this collection with his late wife Maida, told us about his experiences with the art market and how it has evolved during his fifty-year collecting career, and also described his successful cooperation with museums. Then we heard from two members of CODART. First of all, Peter Sutton – executive director and chief executive officer at the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut – discussed George’s long-standing patronage from the museum’s point of view. The closing talk was given by Susan Anderson, who shared her experiences as private curator of the Maida and George Abrams Collection.

These short introductions were followed by a lively discussion with the workshop participants – collectors, representatives of the art trade and CODART curators. How does one go about collecting works on paper? What should one know about storage preservation, hanging and framing? How do collectors handle loans to museums of these delicate works of art? And what problems are faced by museums that wish to exhibit drawings from private collectors?

The participants can look back on a successful morning. Many thanks to George Abrams for this initiative and to the other speakers for sharing their knowledge and experience.

The next Patrons Workshop will take place on Saturday, 15 March 2014. If you would like to attend, become a Patron!

Were you unable to attend this workshop? For more information on the collector George Abrams, read the interview in this eZine.