OD11 digital HR - Flipbook - Page 59
CULTURE
As they wandered through the
galleries, ODA Paul could not help
but admire Paul Frank’s journey
from Molteno Library to Milan,
from browsing art books as a
schoolboy to dealing in the very
pieces those books celebrated.
Today, Paul Frank handles works
by the likes of Damien Hirst, Roy
Lichtenstein and Alighiero Boetti.
The Picassos he used to admire in
books at Bishops are now artworks
he places for trusting clients.
The art world is not simply
about selling; it is about knowing
where a piece belongs, and why.
Paul Frank’s reputation has been
built on his ability to curate entire
collections, not just sell individual
works, helping collectors shape
a vision rather than merely
accumulate objects – what
he calls a “personalised and
holistic approach to collecting”.
Discretion and diplomacy are key,
with private collectors seeking
pieces that resonate beyond
mere aesthetics or value.
Over lunch at Marchesi in
2024, a year later, the two Pauls
picked up where they had left
off. The conversation meandered
between school memories, the
art world and Italian philosophy.
In particular, they mused over the
Italian concept of a misura d’uomo
– the idea that everything, from
architecture to fashion to daily
rituals, should be designed on
a human scale. It is a principle
that applies to art, Milan and
even the way one takes coffee.
They parted with plans for a
future reunion, this time in Cape
Town, when Paul Frank returns to
catch up with family. But ODA Paul
will be back in Milan soon enough,
where another coffee at Marchesi
will, no doubt, turn into yet another
conversation about art, history and
the enduring connections forged
at Bishops.
ABOVE Paul and Paul in front of
the Duomo on a chilly December
morning. Finally completed in 1965,
the cathedral took six centuries to
build, and is the largest church in Italy
and the third-largest in the world.
