{{short description|British art dealer|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}} {{Use British English|date=July 2013}} {{Infobox artist | name = Harry Blain | image = Harry_Blain.png | imagesize = | caption = Harry Blain, art dealer | birth_date = | birth_place = }} '''Harry Blain''' is a British art dealer.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2009-03-12 |title=Is Harry Blain Britart's most powerful man? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/is-harry-blain-britarts-most-powerful-man-1642909.html |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref> ==Career== Blain opened his first gallery, Blains Fine Art, in 1992.<ref name=":0" /> It staged a number of notable exhibitions, including ''In the Eye of the Beholder'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=in the eye of the beholder |url=https://www.newexhibitions.com/e/43380 |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=www.newexhibitions.com}}</ref> a group show which brought together works by Matisse, Degas and Andy Warhol, as well as ''London School'', a show featuring paintings by Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Frank Auerbach and Leon Kossoff.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frank Auerbach, Head of JYM, 1983 |url=https://www.jameshymangallery.com/artists/30-frank-auerbach/works/445-frank-auerbach-head-of-jym-1983/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=James Hyman Gallery |language=en}}</ref> In 2002, Blains Fine Art was renamed Haunch of Venison,<ref name=":0" /> taking its name from the street in Mayfair where it was located. Exhibitions included surveys of Abstract Expressionism<ref>[http://www.nysun.com/arts/an-auspicious-launch-for-new-yorks-haunch/85587/ The New York Sun, September 2010]</ref> and late twentieth century Russian art<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.timeout.com/london/art/event/182347/glasnost |title=Time Out, May 2010 |access-date=2011-03-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018083211/http://www.timeout.com/london/art/event/182347/glasnost |archive-date=2012-10-18 |url-status=dead }}</ref> in New York and London respectively. It also acquired spaces in Berlin, Zurich, New York and Moscow designed by David Adjaye and Caruso St John.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-11-19 |title=Blain Southern Gallery |url=https://carusostjohn.com/projects/blain-southern-gallery/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Caruso St John Architects |language=en}}</ref> Haunch of Venison was acquired by Christie’s in 2007,<ref name=":0" /> with Blain running the auction house's Global private sales. The gallery subsequently moved to 6 Burlington Gardens, formerly the home of The Museum of Mankind.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Byrnes |first=Sholto |date=2012-04-10 |title=The artful dodgers: Graham Southern and Harry Blain |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/the-artful-dodgers-graham-southern-and-harry-blain-6524709.html |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Evening Standard |language=en}}</ref> The gallery represented more than 50 artists, including five Turner Prize winners, amongst them Rachel Whiteread, Tony Cragg and Richard Long. In 2010, Blain, along with fellow director Graham Southern, set up a new gallery, Blain|Southern,<ref name=":1" /> with spaces in London and New York, while also founding with Emmanuel di Donna, Blain di Donna,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Observer - You’re So Blain: Meet the Surreal New Upper East Side Gallery - News - Di Donna Galleries |url=https://www.didonna.com/news/the-observer3 |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=www.didonna.com |language=en}}</ref> which focussed on Modern Art. Blain|Southern staged a number of highly praised exhibitions, including ''Lucian Freud Drawings'',<ref>{{Cite web |last=McKENZIE |first=Dr JANET |title=Lucian Freud: Drawings |url=https://www.studiointernational.com/lucian-freud-drawings |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=www.studiointernational.com |language=en}}</ref> ''Damien Hirst and Felix Gonzalez-Torres: Candy'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aesthetica Magazine - Review of Felix Gonzalez-Torres and Damien Hirst: Candy at Blain {{!}} Southern, London |url=https://aestheticamagazine.com/felix-gonzalez-torres-and-damien-hirst-candy/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Aesthetica Magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref> as well as shows by Bill Viola,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Aesthetica Magazine - Bill Viola, Moving Stillness, Blain Southern, London |url=https://aestheticamagazine.com/bill-viola-moving-stillness-blain-southern-london/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Aesthetica Magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref> Marcel Duchamp<ref>{{Cite web |title=Marcel Duchamp and the contemporary readymade ← Events ← Austrian Cultural Forum London |url=https://www.acflondon.org/events/marcel-duchamp-and-contemporary-readymade/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=www.acflondon.org}}</ref> and Edward Kienholz.<ref>{{Cite web |title=London – America My Hometown by Edward Kienholz at Blain Southern through July 14, 2018 |url=http://artobserved.com/2018/07/london-america-my-hometown-by-edward-kienholz-at-blain-southern-through-july-14-2018/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |language=en-US}}</ref> The gallery closed in 2020,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-02-13 |title=Art news daily: 13 February |url=https://www.apollo-magazine.com/blain-southern-closes-all-three-galleries-in-london-new-york-and-berlin/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Apollo Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> and since then Blain has worked closely with a number of clients, assisting them in building their collections. ==Other projects== Blain co-founded Sedition in 2011, establishing the first online marketplace for collectors to buy, share and sell digital artworks.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2011-11-25 |title=S[edition] |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/12094/1/sedition |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Dazed |language=en}}</ref> Sedition is acknowledged as the forerunner to NFT’s.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2015-08-07 |title=Screen time: digital displays bring art to your home at the touch of a button |url=https://www.wallpaper.com/art/screen-time-digital-displays-bring-art-to-your-home-at-the-touch-of-a-button |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=wallpaper.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-12-01 |title=Digital art available on S[edition] |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2011/12/01/digital-art-available-on-sedition |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=The Art Newspaper - International art news and events}}</ref> ==Personal life== Blain has been married twice and has four children. He actively supports various charities, including the Naked Heart Foundation<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-09-01 |title=From Russia, With Love |url=https://www.wmagazine.com/story/natalia-vodianova-valentino |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=W Magazine |language=en}}</ref> and has co-chaired events such as the NSPCC Ball.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-06-27 |title=Stella McCartney and Natalia Vodianova host the NSPCC’s Pop Art Ball |url=https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/people-parties/news/a20409/stella-mccartney-and-natalia-vodianova-host-the-nspccs-pop-art-ball/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Harper's BAZAAR |language=en-GB}}</ref> He has frequently been listed as one of Britain’s most influential dealers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Harry Blain & Graham Southern |url=https://artreview.com/artist/harry-blain-graham-southern/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=artreview.com |language=en}}</ref> He had a part in the Wim Wenders film, Palermo Shooting, in which he played an art dealer called Harry, appearing alongside Lou Reed, Dennis Hopper, Milla Jovovich and Peter Lindberhg.<ref>{{Citation |last=Wenders |first=Wim |title=Palermo Shooting |date=2008-11-20 |type=Drama |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1008017/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |others=Campino, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Dennis Hopper |publisher=Neue Road Movies, P.O.R. Sicilia, Arte France Cinéma}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blain, Harry}} Category:Living people Category:British art dealers Category:1967 births