Philip Mould Explained

Birth Name:Philip Jonathan Clifford Mould
Birth Place:Wirral, Cheshire, England[1]
Education:University of East Anglia

Philip Jonathan Clifford Mould (born March 1960) is an English art dealer, London gallery owner, art historian, writer and broadcaster.[2] He has made a number of major art discoveries, including works of Thomas Gainsborough, Anthony Van Dyck and Thomas Lawrence.

Mould is the author of two books on art discovery and is widely consulted by the media on the subject. He co-presents the BBC television programme Fake or Fortune?, an arts programme, with journalist and broadcaster Fiona Bruce.[3]

Early life and education

Mould was born in Wirral, Cheshire and educated at Kingsmead School, Hoylake, Worth School and the University of East Anglia, from which he graduated with a BA in History of Art in 1981.[4]

Mould's father owned a factory in Liverpool and his family was based in the Wirral Peninsula.[5] Mould made friends with the owner of a local antiques shop, who taught him to read hallmarks on silver when he was just 11 or 12 years old, and by the age of 14 he was dealing in antique silver.[5]

Career

Mould began art dealing in his early teens and has since established an art dealership specialising in British art, a subject on which he is internationally consulted.[6] He has sold works to public institutions such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York),[7] National Portrait Gallery (London), Museum of Fine Arts Boston,[8] Tate,[9] The Huntington Library (California),[10] and the Royal Albert Memorial Museum.[11]

Mould has worked as a valuer for the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Government's Acceptance in Lieu scheme. Between 1988 and 2010 he acted as honorary art adviser to the House of Commons and the House of Lords.[12] He is president of the charity Kids in Museums,[13] president and ex-chairman of Plantlife International,[14] a patron of Fight for Sight[15] and Acton for ME.[16] He was elected as a fellow of the Linnean Society in 2012.[17]

Mould is also a trustee of Benton End, the former home of artist Cedric Morris and Arthur Lett-Haines, who ran the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing in the house.[18]

Mould has made a number of major art discoveries, including some of Thomas Gainsborough's earliest known works,[19] the only known portrait of Arthur, Prince of Wales[20] and lost works by Anthony van Dyck and Thomas Lawrence.[21] In January 2021, Mould found a miniature portrait of French king Henri III by Jean Decourt.[22]

Mould is a regular broadcaster, reviewer and writer for the national press. His television work includes writing and presenting the Channel 4 series Changing Faces, and featuring as an expert on the Antiques Roadshow. In 2011, he began co-hosting the television programme Fake or Fortune? with Fiona Bruce.[23] Fake or Fortune? has regularly drawn an audience of 5 million and in 2016 it won Best Factual Programme at the RTS West of England Awards.[3] [24] He has authored two critically acclaimed books on art discovery.[25]

In recognition of his art world expertise and contribution to portrait heritage, he was created OBE in the 2005 New Year Honours list.[26] For his achievements in his field, as well as his involvement with numerous charities and broadcasting, Mould received an honorary doctorate in July 2013 at his former university, the University of East Anglia.[27] In 2019, he received the EVCOM (Event and Visual Communication Association) Fellowship award. The citation stated: "His expertise has shaped our understanding and knowledge of art today, and how we communicate about it".[28] In 2023, Mould received a Honorary Doctorate of Arts from Plymouth University.[29]

In January 2014, Mould warned of the increasing prevalence of what he termed "trapping" in which crooked sellers misleadingly hint that fake artworks have genuine provenance, without actually making false descriptions or asserting attributions.[30]

Personal life

Mould and his wife, Catherine, have a son born in 1997.[31] Since 2002 they have owned Duck End House in Oxfordshire, close to Chipping Norton. The house was built in 1628 by Lady Anne Cope, widow of the leading Puritan Sir Anthony Cope.[32] The property was once owned by the seventeenth-century politician Sir William Cope.[33] [34] [35]

In August 2014, Mould was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to The Guardian opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.[36] In October 2015, Mould appeared on BBC's Gardeners' World, in the garden of his home, discussing his passion for nature and talked of his interest in varieties of rose which would have been grown in the time of Sir Anthony van Dyck. He also discussed the work of one of his favourite artists, Cedric Morris, who was also a great plantsman.[37] Mould is a keen collector of Morris's work (for his private collection), and champions modern British artists in general; he cites the Bloomsbury Group amongst his favourites.[5]

In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mould started recording a series of short videos he calls Art in Isolation, where the viewer is invited into his home of Duck End and given personal musings on one of his collected artworks.[38] [39] [40]

Mould has also called on museums to allow dogs into their galleries, stating that "post-lockdown we have been reminded yet again of the important role of dogs in families" and that "allowing dogs entry will make traditionally austere galleries more accessible for families."[41]

He is president of the wild plant conservation charity Plantlife.[42]

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007
  2. News: Philip Mould: why I love being a sleuth on art's treasure trail. Mould. Philip. Telegraph.co.uk. 2017-02-14. en.
  3. News: It's a copy: Fake or Fortune? stars try to halt rival show. 2017-02-14. en.
  4. 'MOULD, Philip Jonathan Clifford', Who's Who 2014, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2013
  5. News: My perfect weekend: Philip Mould, art sleuth. Telegraph.co.uk. 2017-02-14. en.
  6. Web site: Bennett . Will . Telegraph 12 June 2006 . Telegraph.co.uk . 12 June 2006 . 6 May 2011.
  7. Web site: John Vanderbank, the younger Self-Portrait The Met. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, i.e. The Met Museum. 2017-02-14.
  8. News: Portrait of a Lady as a Shepherdess. 2017-02-05. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 2017-02-14. en.
  9. Web site: "Portrait of the Artist's Son, Jonathan Richardson the Younger, in his Study", Jonathan Richardson c.1734 Tate. Tate. Tate. en-GB. 2017-02-14.
  10. Web site: Portrait of a Young Child – Works – The Huntington Art Collections Online Catalog. emuseum.huntington.org. 2017-02-14.
  11. Web site: The Art Fund, 'Art Saved' . Artfund.org . 6 May 2011.
  12. Web site: Bennett . Will . Telegraph 19 March 2001 . Telegraph.co.uk . 19 March 2001 . 6 May 2011.
  13. Web site: Kids in Museums website . 22 May 2012.
  14. Web site: Plantlife International website . Plantlife.org.uk . 22 May 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120504094135/http://www.plantlife.org.uk/about_us/our_team/our_trustees/ . 4 May 2012 . dmy-all .
  15. Web site: Philip Mould OBE joins Fight for Sight as patron – Fight for Sight. 2013. fightforsight.org.uk. 19 May 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140325113323/http://fightforsight.org.uk/press-release/items/philip-mould-obe-joins-fight-for-sight-as-patron-327. 25 March 2014. dmy-all.
  16. Web site: May 30, 2024 . New Patrons announcement . 5 August 2024 . www.actionforme.org.uk.
  17. Web site: The Linnean Society website. linnean.org . 31 May 2012.
  18. Web site: Benton End - About page . 5 August 2024 . bentonend.co.uk.
  19. News: Rare Gainsborough uncovered by Antiques Roadshow presenter. Millward. David. Telegraph.co.uk. 2017-02-14. en.
  20. Book: Mould, Philip. The Trail of Lot 163: In Search of Lost Art Treasures. 1997-03-13. Fourth Estate. 9781857025231. London. en.
  21. News: Van Dyck paintings unearthed by saleroom sleuth. Alberge. Dalya. 2011-06-11. The Guardian. 2017-02-14. en-GB. 0261-3077.
  22. Web site: Fake or Fortune presenter finds rare portrait by Mary, Queen of Scots court artist worth hundreds of thousands . . https://web.archive.org/web/20210330151109/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/01/26/presenter-finds-rare-portrait-queen-scots-court-artist-worth/ . 2021-03-30 . live .
  23. News: Fake or Fortune?. BBC Online. 4 June 2013.
  24. Web site: 6 March 2016 . RTS West of England Awards 2016 . 5 August 2024 . rts.org.uk.
  25. News: Sleuth: The Amazing Quest for Lost Art Treasures by Philip Mould: review. Reid. Aileen. Telegraph.co.uk. 2017-02-14. en.
  26. Web site: The British Theatre Guide: New Year Honours List 2005 . Britishtheatreguide.info . 4 January 2005 . 6 May 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20050122024515/http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/news/nyhons05.htm . 22 January 2005 . dmy-all .
  27. Web site: UEA to honour notable alumni at its 50th-anniversary graduation. 21 May 2013. University of East Anglia. 13 January 2014.
  28. Web site: EVCOM Fellowship Awards Lunch - Introducing Our 2019 Fellows. Brown. Amelia. 2019-12-06. Evcom. en-GB. 2019-12-11.
  29. Web site: Williams . Alan . 19 September 2023 . Celebrating achievements at Graduation 2023 . 2 August 2024 . plymouth.ac.uk.
  30. Web site: Art experts warn of the rise of the 'trappers'. Copping. Jasper. 12 January 2014. The Daily Telegraph. 13 January 2014.
  31. Web site: My perfect weekend: Philip Mould, art sleuth. Anna. Tyzack. 14 January 2014. www.telegraph.co.uk.
  32. Web site: Elliot . Liz . 20 November 2018 . At home in Oxfordshire with the art dealer and broadcaster Philip Mould . 5 August 2024 . At home in Oxfordshire with the art dealer and broadcaster Philip Mould.
  33. News: Period Property . BBC presenter Philip Mould's Duck End house, Oxfordshire . https://web.archive.org/web/20110902074036/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/periodproperty/8731501/BBC-presenter-Philip-Moulds-Duck-End-house-Oxfordshire.html . dead . 2 September 2011 . . 9 October 2015.
  34. Web site: At home in Oxfordshire with the art dealer and broadcaster Philip Mould. Liz. Elliot. House & Garden. 20 November 2018.
  35. Web site: Duck End House, Oxfordshire: Why this 17th century house is a work of art in itself. Jeremy. Musson. 6 May 2018. Country Life.
  36. News: Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories | Politics . theguardian.com . 2014-08-07 . 26 June 2014.
  37. Web site: BBC Two - Gardeners' World, 2015, Episode 29 . Bbc.co.uk . 9 October 2015 . 9 October 2015.
  38. News: Philip Mould interview: 'Art can colour and enrich your confinement'. Lucy. Davies. The Telegraph. 9 April 2020. www.telegraph.co.uk.
  39. Web site: Philip Mould launches daily livestream based on personal collection. www.antiquestradegazette.com.
  40. News: Interiors: how best to display your art with Art in Isolation's Philip Mould. Katrina. Burroughs. www.thetimes.co.uk.
  41. Web site: Mendick . Robert . 4 September 2021 . Let dogs enjoy art galleries and museums too, says Philip Mould . 2 August 2024 . telegraph.co.uk.
  42. Web site: Home . plantlife.org.uk.

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