Abbott and Holder

Abbott and Holder is a lovely picture dealers and conservators who specialise in English art just near the British Museum. I always like to go in for a browse as they often have some interesting pieces on display.
The gallery is a lovely light and airy town house, and you are left to browse uninterrupted over the three floors in their tranquil house-​like setting. The whole building smells of wood stain and the paintings are hung salon style on the crimson walls. There’s a nice choice of watercolours, oils, prints and drawings, from small scale mounts (£100 and under) to huge, imposing modern oils (up to £10,000). At the moment their most dramatic modern piece is a James Boswell, ‘The Dark Bride’, and if I had a spare £7000 It would be in my hallway right now. If you are serious about collecting you can ask to be added to ‘The List’ which is a seven-​weekly publication that announces their new acquisitions.
On the second floor there’s usually an exhibition on, so if you’re not interested in buying it’s still worth a look. I’ve only ever seen the same three people working there, all highly informative and friendly. As soon as you’ve rung the doorbell they welcome you in, taking your bags and coat so you can browse freely.

This gallery, which is just across the road from the British Museum, specialises in British watercolours, prints and drawings from the past 250 years or so. If this is the sort of art you want to buy you’ll find it hard to imagine a better gallery than this. A very large stock, very reasonable prices, friendly and knowledgeable staff. None of your pretentious, snobbery here! If only all art galleries were like this. Watch out especially for their annual summer sale in June; you can get some great bargains.