The Mayor Gallery in London is marking its centennial anniversary this year, joining the rare ranks of commercial galleries that have survived for a full century. Founded by Fred Mayor in 1925, the gallery has played a pivotal role in introducing groundbreaking artists and movements to British audiences, from Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art to Group Zero and Conceptual Art.
James Mayor, who took over the gallery from his father, demonstrated his prescient eye for art history in 1973 when he mounted the first UK presentation of Andy Warhol's infamous Mao works. At the time, Pop Art was still gaining recognition in Britain, and English audiences weren't particularly receptive to the movement. However, Mayor's bold decision proved visionary – in 2015, an auction record for a Mao portrait was set at $47.5 million.
The gallery's legacy of introducing revolutionary artists to UK audiences stretches back decades. Legendary figures like Paul Klee and Alexander Calder had their British debuts at The Mayor Gallery, establishing the venue as a crucial bridge between international avant-garde movements and British art collectors. Under both Fred and James Mayor's leadership, the gallery became instrumental in showcasing some of the most significant art movements of the 20th century.
James Mayor's journey in the art world began in 1960s London, which he describes as an "extraordinary" time. The city's art scene was buzzing with now-legendary galleries: Kasmin was showing David Hockney and Kenneth Noland on New Bond Street, while "Groovy Bob" Fraser's gallery hosted parties for The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Marlborough Gallery was establishing itself as the world's first mega-gallery, and toward the decade's end, Lisson Gallery and Annely Juda would open their doors.
By the late 1960s, Mayor had moved to New York, where he first worked at Perls Gallery before joining Sotheby's (then called Parke-Bernet). There, he established the auction house's post-war and contemporary art department, which has since become one of its largest categories. Mayor recalls that the New York art scene at the time consisted of "basically 10 galleries selling contemporary art," creating a socially fluid environment where leading figures could be encountered in the same bar.
During his New York years, Mayor developed relationships with prominent artists including Cy Twombly and James Rosenquist, as well as influential dealers like Leo Castelli, whom he calls "the king of the scene." His friendship with Andy Warhol proved particularly significant – Mayor has numerous stories about the artist, whom he considers "as misunderstood as Duchamp." He recalls Warhol sitting in corners at parties, asking "Who are all these freaks?" Mayor even wrote Warhol's obituary for Vogue and traveled with him to Kuwait under invitation from the National Council of Arts, Culture, and Letters, a trip Warhol chose over attending President Jimmy Carter's inauguration.
When Mayor returned to London to take over his father's gallery, he realized that many artists he knew from New York were virtually unknown in Britain. This presented an opportunity to introduce British audiences to figures like Roy Lichtenstein, Agnes Martin, Eva Hesse, John Chamberlain, and Cy Twombly. "I was able to show artists that people really hadn't been exposed to," Mayor explains, adding that his philosophy has always been "to look for artists who have been at the forefront of taste changes."
Today, at the gallery's centennial, Mayor continues this tradition of discovery. He's currently presenting a show of works by the late Slovakian Conceptualist Július Koller, featuring pieces from across the artist's subversive and varied career that draws on Fluxus and Nouveau Réalisme. The exhibition is characteristically humorous, political, and somewhat obscure – qualities that define The Mayor Gallery itself as a place where discovery, passion, and open-mindedness are paramount. "I have a Catholic taste: I only show what I believe in," Mayor quips, expressing his hope that "if, by the time I die, I've changed 10 people's outlook on life from what I've shown, then I've achieved something."
Mayor, who can be found at his Bury Street gallery wearing resplendent tailored suits and vibrant ties (he owns over 600, joking that "they find me"), is accompanied by his impressively calm whippet named Purdey. Surrounded by a glittering array of Surrealist works by Salvador Dalí, Emmy Bridgwater, Pablo Picasso, and Wifredo Lam, he embodies the gallery's personal connection to canonical art movements.
Despite his success, Mayor expresses concern about the current direction of the art market. "In dealing, you're basically selling your confidence," he explains. "You've got to believe in what you sell, and you've got to believe in what you collect." He worries that when people buy art solely with money in mind, it contributes to market slowdowns. "If you remove passion, you remove life," Mayor warns. "We've got to get back to passion, love, and have fun."
For those interested in collecting art, Mayor advocates for it being "a voyage of discovery." He advises newcomers to start by visiting museums, then finding galleries with which they feel an affinity. Above all, he emphasizes that collecting should be enjoyable: "The clients who I know that are developing their taste have terrific fun. It's a hunt." His purchasing advice is straightforward: "Never buy something you don't understand. If you buy something because it's a bargain, there's probably a reason why it's a bargain. Trust your own judgment and not what you're told."
As The Mayor Gallery celebrates its remarkable centenary, it continues to embody the spirit of discovery and risk-taking that has defined its century-long journey, proving that passion and belief in art's transformative power remain as relevant today as they were when Fred Mayor first opened the gallery's doors 100 years ago.
