Leslie Waddington, the British art dealer credited with introducing the work of post-war American artists to London, has died aged 81. The chairman of the Cork Street gallery Waddington Custot was also known for being an early champion of British painters including Peter Blake, Patrick Caulfield, Terry Frost and Patrick Heron.
Waddington was born into a Jewish family in Ireland in 1934. His father, Victor, ran a gallery in Dublin for 30 years before moving the business to London in 1957. A year later Leslie joined the gallery, having studied at the Sorbonne in Paris during the early 1950s. Leslie Waddington quickly developed a distinct style, bringing the emerging St Ives painters to the gallery followed by Abstract Expressionists, Pop artists and Colour Field painters.
In 1966, Waddington set up his own gallery, Waddington Galleries, which exhibited works by the new generation of British sculptors such as Anthony Caro and William Turnbull, as well as European and American painters. Among the veteran dealer’s lifelong passions were Picasso, Matisse, Dubuffet, Arp and Miró.
Following the death in 2010 of Alex Bernstein, a member of the Granada media dynasty who was Waddington’s silent partner, Waddington Galleries became Waddington Custot Galleries. The French art dealer Stephane Custot bought Bernstein’s shares and has worked alongside Waddington for the past five years. “Leslie was known for his knowledge, fiery character and integrity,” Custot said in a statement. “He was a constant source of inspiration and we shall all greatly miss him.”
Waddington was honoured as an outstanding gallerist by the Federation of European Art Galleries Association at Art Basel in 2013. Presenting the award, the Tate director Nicholas Serota described Waddington as “without equal in the profession”. Serota saluted the dealer for his energy and imagination, his loyalty to artists and his ethical practice. “I have never ever heard anyone complaining about a poor or sharp deal from Leslie Waddington,” Serota said.
