William O'Reilly: The Thrill of Collecting Old Masters

Artelligence Podcast

TEFAF Maastricht, the mother of all art fairs encompassing 7,000 years of art history, normally runs for multiple weeks in March. This week it re-opens for a shortened run. Noted as the centerpiece of the Old Masters calendar, and with Christie’s having held Old Masters sales in New York just a week or two before, I thought it would helpful to speak to William O’Reilly, who runs the New York office of Dickinson. Founded in 1993 by Simon Dickinson, the firm boasts that it privately and discreetly handles a uniquely broad range of quality artworks, from early Renaissance masters through to blue-chip Contemporary artists. It is one of the very few firms that can truly say that. O’Reilly began his career studying Arabic in school. He worked for Christie’s for 10 years rising to be International Head of Old Masters drawings. Since 2018, he has worked at Dickinson which is known for its gallery exhibitions and their curated art fair presentations at places like TEFAF. I hope you enjoy the conversation.