James Butterwick and the Cultural Significance of Avant-Garde Art

In the heart of London’s Brook Street lies the James Butterwick Gallery, a sanctuary of Eastern European art, where history and culture converge through the canvases of the past. I had the privilege to step into this world, guided by none other than James Butterwick himself, an art dealer specialising in Ukrainian and European art.

Oleksandr Bohomazov, Caucasus (undulating composition, 1915) Courtesy of James Butterwick.

James Butterwick, a preeminent London collector and dealer, is steeped in a familial tradition of art and antiques that has positioned him as a foremost expert in Ukrainian and Russian art. Born in 1962 in Maidenhead, Butterwick’s destiny in the art world seemed predetermined, with his grandfather, Cyril Butterwick, serving as the Head of Silver at Sotheby’s London and his godfather, Peregrine Pollen, as President in New York. 

Educated at Eton College, where he studied History, French, and History of Art, James’s deep-seated passion for the arts took him to the Soviet Union in 1985 to study Russian in Minsk and Pyatigorsk. He culminated his academic endeavours with a degree in Russian & Fine Art from Bristol University in 1987. That same year, he embarked on his career at Sotheby’s as a graduate trainee, marking his foray into collecting with his inaugural acquisition—a figure drawing by the Russian artist Bakst.

It was here, amidst the collection of remarkable artworks, that James shared insights into the cultural significance of Ukrainian art, its impact on collectors across Western Europe, and the story of a renaissance artist whose works have transcended throughout time.