In the autumn of 1974, I arrived for the first time in New York City, where skyscrapers grew in a wild and modern jungle of light, sound and movement. I was immediately impressed by the fluid society, created by the activities of a cultural melting pot of people of a variety of race, colour, wealth and background. I did not speak English and I was not born in America, yet I felt a tremendous sense of freedom, no doubt as many before me who had emigrated across an ocean with hopes, desires and dreams.

The personality and culture I gained from the society into which I was born changed as a result of my interaction with Western society. The range of influences on society and the idealism of democracy particularly moved me.

Having finished my education in international finance, I started trading in financial markets. I observed the behaviour of the participants, noting their comfort in crowds, their various states of irrational exuberance or despair and, through the reflexive process, their tendency to trade the market away from value to extreme levels. When the leading traders set a trend, others would follow. The leaders would normally survive, whereas the stragglers would often find themselves stranded in extreme situations.

My experiences in the financial world taught me that although mankind can discipline itself with knowledge, experience and, thus, greater understanding, individuals are always influenced by the impulsive emotions of human nature.

In the spring of 1983 I went to the impressionist museum, in the Jardin des Tuileries, in Paris. When I saw the paintings of Van Gogh and Gauguin, I took a mental voyage to their world and was touched by the purity of the emotions expressed in their work. This first exposure to art created in me a passionate addiction, and, unlike many other addictions, it became an uplifting and enriching experience.

In a quest to expand my knowledge, I visited the museums and cultural centres of Europe. Whenever I visited a new city, I was drawn less to the highlights of the social scene than to the culture of each country, expressed through its art. Each great cultural centre, from the Uffizi in Florence to the Louvre in Paris, had its own influence on my taste and development.

My passion traversed the Renaissance to modernism. Through the work of the great sculptors and painters, I began to look at the world about me in a different way; even familiar places suddenly held new aspects and experiences.

When I saw Franz Klein’s Black Shadow on White and Jackson Pollock’s drip paintings in the Pompidou Centre in Paris, my curiosity about modern art was awakened. My new Mecca became the Tate Gallery in London, shortly followed by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. While researching this area, I started to visit art galleries and view the contemporary art sales at the main auction rooms and determined that I would understand what factors made modern art esteemed in a critical and historical sense and what had established the market value of the pieces. I enrolled in various art schools, read art history books and subscribed to art magazines to acquire a greater understanding of art and its history.

Viewing and studying art instilled in me a longing to participate in this world, but among the many careers associated with the art world such as artist, critic, curator or dealer, I was unable to find an appropriate path on which to focus my energies.

When I saw the Julian Schnabel retrospective at the Pompidou Centre in the winter of 1987, I noticed that under the title of almost every piece of work was ‘Collection Saatchi, Londres’. Suddenly it occurred to me that as a collector I could satisfy many of the different aspects of the art world that interested me.

Interacting at many levels, art is created by a society with surplus wealth. Throughout history, artists have been nurtured and developed by patrons; the artists requiring the patrons’ financial support to enable them to dedicate themselves to their work. The nature of patronage has developed significantly over the centuries and whereas commissions used to be a natural part of the artist’s output, thankfully today a respect for freedom of expression has largely eradicated this procedure.

Now the cutting-edge collectors give the artists their first break and support their careers until they generate the interest of museums and a broader public.
To me, art is not a question of skill or craftsmanship, but the creation and presentation of an image conceived in the mind and experience of the artist. It is the subtle variation in an original work of art that leads to extraordinary effects in the mind of the viewer. Great art transcends the cultural component and creates a mental phenomenon for anyone, regardless of cultural background, as long as he or she has a passion for art.

There have been many assessments of the contemporary art market from an investment point of view. I feel the risk of buying with a heavy bias towards investment far exceeds the rewards.

Those who collect what they love with passion and courage will always find that tomorrow is another day. Whether the market for their pictures goes up or down, the works will still give them pleasure and they can be assured that, through the ages, art is re-evaluated in terms of price and historical importance.

The limiting factors in forming any collection are availability of the work and the financial ability to purchase it. Whereas I could not afford to buy one major old master or impressionist work, I managed to form a significant collection of art of my time. I purchased only what I loved and considered to be a major work of a great artist. I was the first owner of most of the works i purchased, yet I never felt that they truly belonged to me, but to the world of tomorrow. I believed that if others loved them as much as I did, they would live on long after me.

My individual history, knowledge, experience and the temporary hysteria to which we are all prone are reflected in the collection I formed ‘Once Upon A time In America’.