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The auctioneer that we are seeking would have to have had military training, been involved with espionage, flown on the Concord, had several homes including one in the South of France, been involved with smuggling, international secrets, tax shelters, spies, million dollar paintings and much more.
He was, and his name was Peter Cecil Wilson born March 8, 1913 to English parents of impressive pedigree. At birth he had links to both Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street, which was the official address of the Prime Minister. His father, Sir Mathew Wilson, Baronet, was from Eshton Hall, Gargrave in Craven, Yorkshire. His mother being the Honorable Barbara Lister, daughter of the fourth Baron Ribblesdale, Master of the Royal Buckhounds of Gisburn Park, Gisburn (An important personage of Queen Victoria’s household).
Although later Wilson would be credited with being the one person who was responsible for creating the modern Sotheby’s, his early years were best defined as unstable and uncertain. Books could be written about his life. This article will provide the abbreviated version.
Sir Mathew Wilson had the nickname of “Scatters” which defined what happened to money in his possession and care. Yes, Peter’s father gambled and invested poorly. In 1916 Scatters sold the family library to keep creditors at bay. When Peter was ten the family had to move out of Eshton Hall entirely. The family took up a rootless existence, camping with relatives and renting accommodations. (In reflecting back on his childhood Peter was quoted saying “I think a very happy childhood is not conducive to success in later life”)
The facts reveal that Peter attended Eton, Britain’s premier public school and then went on to Oxford. In reality, Peter, tall, gangling and hating athletic pursuits, often cut school to visit the antique shops in search of old books and curios to study. He was known as an “alternative Etonian”. He failed History and dropped out of Oxford. His parents then sent him to Europe to “polish his languages”. He was home within a year, at age 20, with his new wife, Helen.
Helen Ranken was middle class which was a great disappointment to Peter’s parents. Sir Mathew and Lady Wilson promptly revoked the small allowance that Peter had been receiving forcing him to find employment. He worked at many odd jobs from a clerk in a coin and medals dealer’s shop next to Christies on King Street, to selling advertising for various newspapers.
His break came in 1936 while at a party. Peter met Vere Pilkington, a ten year employee of Sotheby’s. Wilson offered to work for free if he could get a position at Sotheby’s. He landed a job for little more than he asked for in the furniture department as a porter.
Peter worked hard and showed promise. As luck would have it, A Director was retiring at about the same time Peter’s wife came into some inheritance money. In December of 1938 he was able to purchase, for $5,000, shares of a retiring Director to become a Director and junior partner at Sotheby’s.
In the Fall of 1939, less than a year after stepping up to Director, Peter Wilson abruptly vanished from the auction house. He was not alone. Almost every male of fighting age was called to action with Hitler’s invasion of Poland.
It is at this point that we can first see the development of a James Bond type character. Peter and four others were recruited as “bright spirits” to do serious secret service in search of spies. He would spend six years serving his country in the Censorship Department. He was sent to Gibraltar to the “Special Examiners” department to go through other countries diplomatic bags and correspondence. Next, he was sent to Bermuda, where the Hamilton Princess Hotel was setup with hundreds of women who scrutinized the contents of the transatlantic mails. Peter was to oversee this operation. Letters were steamed open, then heated or dampened for evidence of secret inks.
According to statistics published after the war, Peter’s department was responsible for identifying and exposing foreign agents operating in America during World War II.
Toward the end of the war Wilson was promoted to full time espionage. He joined the ranks of M16 (the equivalent of our FBI) and was transferred to Washington, where he was invited to stay on and make spying his life. His M16 code number was 007. One of his friends and colleagues was Ian Fleming. Later, Wilson liked to boast that he was the inspiration for Fleming’s creation of James Bond.
According to Robert Lacey, author of Sotheby’s – Bidding for Class, “It was not an impossible stretch. Peter Wilson was charm and intrigue personified. The themes of his career at Sotheby’s were to be the seduction of clients and the stealing of sales from the enemy. There are even those who believe that Peter Wilson never fully left the world of espionage, and that all the famous things he did for Sotheby’s were just a front”.
The fact was, Wilson returned to Sotheby’s located on New “Bond” Street and in 1947 he was promoted to head the “”Picture Department”. This was a fantastic career move to the most important sales department in the company. It was also the year of his divorce with Helen. The explanation for the divorce is revealed in the book: Sotheby’s Bidding for Class “Growing up under a law which made homosexual practices crime, he was not open about his orientation as a youth, and his early marriage to Helen Ranken channeled him firmly in a conventional direction. The couple had two sons, born in 1937 and 1940. But the marriage was dissolved in 1947, and thereafter he followed his inclinations.” Helen remarried and Peter had a good relationship with the new family unit. But, from this point forward the only marriage Peter would have would be to Sotheby’s.
Peter Wilson’s years of dealing for the British Intelligence in Washington D.C. after the war would open his eyes to the opportunities of exploiting wealth in America as well as the rest of the world. By heading up the most important department,“Pictures”, Sotheby’s leadership strategically placed Wilson in the position to challenge Christies dominance. However, to be a super auctioneer, he would have to aim much higher, and he did. He developed a vision of Sotheby’s becoming more than just a British auction house. He also was eager to challenge the dealer monopoly on “high ticket” art sales. Dealers were the principal customers of the auction galleries as well as the primary competitors.
His opportunity came in 1952 when the playboy king of Egypt, King Farouk was deposed. As author Robert Lacey put it, “Wilson sniffed plunder immediately”. He knew that the former king had a reputation for being the world’s biggest collector. The art world had been depressed since post war 1945 and Sotheby’s needed a boost.
Wilson was on the first available flight to Cairo to propose his services to the military junta. He found gold – including over 2,000 gold watches and varied collections of coins, stamps, glassware, porcelain and furniture. But back home the Board was nervous. What if Farouk or heirs contested the sale? What about possible lawsuits? Costs could be prohibitive; so much could go wrong. Peter Wilson’s response to the nervous directors was “In life one goes forward or back, I wanted to go forward.” Indeed he did. Sixteen months later, after battling competition, tireless cataloging and promotion, the auction took place in Cairo in March of 1954.
From an immediate financial perspective the Farouk auction was a disaster. The Egyptian government was disappointed with the L750,000 gross and refused to hand over commission and agreed upon expenses. However, in terms of promotion the auction was a great success. Peter Wilson had pulled off his first International publicity coup with stories appearing all over the world. It would not be the last time that he would make the Board uneasy by taking big risks. Sometimes his deals were never even discussed with the Board to the chagrin of some Directors. He would provide guarantees to sellers that would make the Directors tremble.
Peter Wilson’s first “guarantee” was meant to battle a group of London art dealers who were trying to buy a painting out from underneath his “picture department”. Commander Beauchamp had agreed to the consignment and then called to say that dealers offered him L10,000. In response, Peter provided a guarantee of more than L15,000. Days before the advertised auction and based on new dealer information, Beauchamp demanded the guarantee be raised to L35,000 or he would withdraw the painting. The battle was on. This was the first major confrontation between the dealer pool and an auction house for market domination. The Board prudently suggested withdrawal. Peter Wilson, the visionary, pushed hard with the quote “If we fail over this, we’re done for”. Wilson argued fiercely that the auction house would never grow if people believed that only dealers could sell the high priced paintings.
On July 11, 1956, at the “Summer Picture” auction, Lot 119, “The Adoration of the Shepherds” by Nicolas Poussin, sold for L29,000. Sotheby’s paid the extra L6,000 to Beauchamp. But the outside world knew nothing of the loss. It was hailed a triumph for Sotheby’s.
A triumphant Peter Wilson became Chairman of the Board of Sotheby’s in 1957. Everyone was taking note of the growth and prestige that Peter brought to the Sotheby name.
One person who took note was Eric Goldschmidt, an American, who was handling his father’s (Jakob) estate of Impressionist masterpieces destined for the auction block. Christies had originally been thought to be the destination of the collection. However, Eric, a shrewd negotiator arranged a meeting in the Savoy Hotel in London. Unbeknownst to Sotheby’s and Christies, Eric had two Suites. He set two meetings back to back with the two auction giants. Eric produced his own list of reserves and ideas on commission rates. Peter Wilson’s flexibility paid off and Sotheby’s handled the auction of 14 pictures. Three of the Goldschmidt lots failed to reach reserve. According to the secretive policy of the time, the public would not know this information. It appeared all sold. In fact, L120,000 (nearly $300,000) was raised and paved the way for greater “picture” auctions.
Sotheby’s “Picture Auctions” were not only overtaking Christies, they were hurting the New York firm of Parke Bernet. Wilson worked hard at trying to get a permanent location in America. It happened in the Spring of 1965 with an auction on Madison Ave. at Sotheby’s latest coup, the acquisition of Parke Bernet. Peter Wilson, well-respected London Auctioneer, presided over only one auction in New York, the inaugural auction at Sotheby’s Parke Bernet. Peter was not about to be anchored anywhere, not even if it was the greatest city in America.
Peter Cecil Wilson was a complex strong willed, independent person with chameleon-like qualities. He believed the world could be divided into two classes “those who wished to appear richer than they were, and those who knew it was smart to seem poorer”. He used one against the other in the auction room environment. Although he could sell art for hundreds of thousands of dollars, all the while praising it’s beauty, he knew that art was about money. He often stated “Art for art’s sake is really awful rot.” Peter Wilson believed that art should yield “cash as well as class”. He believed that people bought art because they expected it to retain its value. This was his rationale for starting the Times-Sotheby Index in 1967. This Index charted the progress of art prices with tables and graphs as if “pictures” were a commodity traded on the stock market.
According to author Robert Lacey, “Wilson’s flash side was fascinated by the opulent vulgarity of “The Carpetbaggers”. It held the same appeal for him as James Bond, and he was delighted when Michel Strauss, a young impressionist expert, commissioned Ian Fleming to devise an 007 adventure in the form of a short story set at Sotheby’s. Wilson was unconcerned that James Bond’s parading of short cuts to status exploited the fantasies of the nouveau riche and the gullible. The same could be said for Sotheby’s. James Bond both glorified and cheapened the cult of the English gentleman, and that was Peter Wilson’s game.” Although many people were close to Peter Wilson, no one really knew him well. “He was ceaselessly in motion, the consummate salesman. He knew how to beguile and amuse, to see into the hearts of clients and to play them just as he wanted.” states Lacey.
Peter Wilson was keen on the demand by clients for tax avoidance during the 1960’s and was quoted as saying “Now, we can’t handle this transaction through quite the normal channels.” This was a time when offshore companies were forming; cash came in briefcases, money was buried in art. Sotheby’s asked no questions when buyers had purchases invoiced to exotic sounding companies in the Caribbean. They even offered their special Swiss numbered account to important buyers and sellers according to Robert Lacey. “Experts dealing with clients in Africa and Argentina soon learned there was no market for paintings which could not fit inside a suitcase.” states Lacey. Further, “London was the end of the laundering process.”
The twenty year end of Peter Wilson’s wild ride started with a recession in 1969 which created a high number of buy-backs and purchases by Sotheby’s based on guarantees and reserves that could not be met in a sliding market. The nay-saying Board of Directors were becoming more critical of the super star with good reason. The L400,000 year-end loss wiped out profit and dividends for Sotheby’s. The whole program of fictitious names for buybacks unraveled and infuriated the press. This marked the end of lying after auction and the “Times-Sotheby Index.” By the end of 1970 Sotheby’s was suddenly short of cash. But, Peter Wilson brought the controversial solution to the table.
The solution was the “Sotheby’s Cigarette”. W.D. & H.O. Willis Tobacco Company was willing to sponsor the brand and infuse the needed cash. This proposal tore Sotheby’s apart. Key people resigned during the battle that followed. In the end, through tenacity and threatening, Peter won. The L100,000 royalty helped tide Sotheby’s over through the difficult downturn. It also precipitated loss of confidence with Peter Wilson by the Board of Directors. He never gained back the freedom to make decisions himself. In fact, it became more difficult to accomplish anything without full Board approval.
Prior to 1969 Peter Wilson was Sotheby’s. He was a strong character and leader. He was bold, daring and imaginative. As seen, he often defied the Board of Directors and operated in a clandestine manner. He personally was responsible for the concept and implementation of “guarantees” and “advances” to consignors. Peter was ruthless in getting collections to Sotheby’s. He led the company to new heights, opened offices internationally, put Sotheby’s on American soil, instituted the buyer’s premium, took on the art cartel in London and initiated pre-sale estimates for catalogs. He announced in 1978 “I have no intentions of resigning, and no need to for many years to come.”
Intentions or not, surprisingly, he did announce his resignation on November 9, 1979 to the shock and surprise of everyone that knew him well. His announcement came five days after Sir Anthony Blunt, Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures was exposed as a spy who worked for the KGB in concert with Maclean, Burgess and Kim Philby. Supposedly there was a team of five spies operating for the KGB. The timing of Wilson’s resignation raised suspicions. But, a fifth man, John Cairncross from the official Treasury, was arrested and charged with leaking documents to Burgess. Some people persisted in trying to connect Wilson to the spies. Perhaps it was because he once served or was acquainted with each, or, that they were all homosexual. However, no incriminating connection was made.
There were rumors that some kind of deal was cut in exchange for his resignation. However, there is no proof to the rumor. Although resigned, Peter Wilson did not distance himself from the running of Sotheby’s. He named his successor. His easy going, mild-mannered cousin, the 15th Earl Westmorland was put into the Chairman’s position. Wilson moved to his residence in Clavary, France. There he set up an elaborate office with 5 permanent phone lines. He was in contact with Westmorland daily. He ran Sotheby’s from his Mediterranean garden. He remained on the payroll with his salary and expenses being split in three equal payments from Sotheby’s London – New York and Switzerland. He would shed his gardening gloves and fly anywhere in the world to consign for Sotheby’s. As Robert Lacey put it, “He could never let go of Sotheby’s. That was his life, his love, his mistress, his friend.” Peter Cecil Wilson, M16, the real 007, would “be there” for Sotheby’s until his death from Leukemia in June of 1984.
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