Peregrine Pollen

Peregrine Pollen
Born24 January 1931
London, England
Died18 February 2020(2020-02-18) (aged 89)
OccupationAuctioneer
EmployerSotheby Parke-Bernet
Spouse
Patricia Helen Barry
(m. 1958; div. 1972)
(m. 1978; died 2016)
Children5 (including Arabella Pollen)

Peregrine Michael Hungerford Pollen[1] (24 January 1931 – 18 February 2020) was an English auctioneer who headed Parke-Bernet in the 1960s after it was purchased by Sotheby's. He was known for expanding the auction house in North America, and bringing a dramatic flair to auctions.

Early life

Pollen was born to Walter Michael Hungerford Pollen, a steel industrialist, and Rosalind Frances Pollen née Benson, the daughter of Robert Henry Benson, a well-known London banker,[2] on 24 January 1931.[3] His grand-uncle was George Holford.[4] He attended Eton College and read modern languages at Christ Church, University of Oxford.[1][3] Pollen then worked as a Latin teacher, an organist in Australia, warehouse worker in Los Angeles, a gasoline attendant, pantry boy on an ocean liner from London to Las Palmas, aluminium worker in Kitimat, British Columbia, and attendant at a psychiatric hospital.[1][2][4] He served his national service in the King's Royal Rifle Corps before becoming an aide-de-camp to the Governor of Kenya, Evelyn Baring, from 1955 to 1957.[2]

Work as auctioneer

Pollen first began working for Sotheby's in 1957, rising to become an aide to the company's chairman, Peter Wilson, before he was made the company's first New York City representative in 1960. After the company purchased Parke-Bernet in 1964—at the time the largest auction house in America— he became the head of Sotheby Parke-Bernet. He expanded it throughout North America, opening facilities in Houston, Denver, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, and São Paulo. He also spearheaded the opening of PB 84, a discount store, in New York City in 1968.[3][5][6]

As an auctioneer, he was known for having a dramatic flair.[3] At a 1967 auction of treasure from the 1715 Treasure Fleet, Pollen had a talking macaw brought in and projected images of the fleet on the walls of the auction room. In order to get Impressionist paintings out of Buenos Aires, he once concealed them in a Beatles poster.[6] Pollen later had a caique from South America named Papagoya that accompanied him around the city and was reportedly addicted to alcohol.[1] He oversaw auctions of numerous items, including Helena Rubinstein's collection and treasure salvaged from the 1715 Treasure Fleet.[2] Pollen oversaw a dramatic increase in Parke-Bernet's sales; in 1964 when it was purchased, its sales were $11 million.[7] By 1966, the auction houses' sales were $23.5 million, and $38.5 million by 1970.[3]

In 1972, Pollen became vice-chairman of Sotheby's and returned to England.[3] As the largest private shareholder in the company (with five percent), Pollen was considered the likely successor of Wilson as company chairman until the company began losing money— which many blamed on over-expansion. When Gordon Brunton was made the chairman after Wilson's retirement, Pollen left the company,[2] retiring in 1982.[3]

Personal life and death

In 1958, he married Patricia Helen Barry. They had three children,[3] including Arabella Pollen,[8] before divorcing in 1972 and remarrying in 1978. Patricia Barry died in 2016.[3] He lived in Norton Hall, Gloucestershire where he planted between 6,000 and 8,000 trees,[1] and was a trustee of the Westonbirt Arboretum.[2] Pollen died on 18 February 2020.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Peregrine Pollen obituary". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Peregrine Pollen, auctioneer with 'the flair factor' who steered Sotheby's to success in the US – obituary". The Telegraph. 3 March 2020. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Genzlinger, Neil (11 March 2020). "Peregrine Pollen, Who Livened Up Auctions, Dies at 89". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Parke-Bernet Chief; Peregrine Michael Hungerford Pollen". The New York Times. 19 January 1966. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  5. ^ "Archives Directory for the History of Collecting". The Fricke Collection. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  6. ^ a b c Hagerty, James R. (12 March 2020). "Peregrine Pollen Brought Theatrical Flair to Auctions". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  7. ^ "Sotheby's Acquires 75% of Parke-Bernet". The New York Times. 15 July 1964. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  8. ^ Scott, Caroline (10 December 2017). "Relative Values: Peregrine Pollen, the former head of Sotheby's in New York, and his daughter Bella Pollen, the fashion designer turned author". The Sunday Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 26 March 2020.

Further reading