Alex Proud – The Rock ‘n’ Roll Art Collector

Alex Proud – Where is all began.

Alex Proud had originally followed in his father’s footsteps, taking a keen interest in art dealing and collecting, with a passion for oriental art. After an apprenticeship with a Japanese art dealer in London he opened his first gallery in 1994 selling rare Japanese prints, but a born entrepreneur, Alex Proud quickly spotted an unfulfilled niche in the market; recognising the forgotten genius of iconic rock and roll photographers who lacked a platform for their work. In 1998 he founded Proud Galleries, now respected as one of Europe’s leading photographic galleries.

“I wanted to bring affordable high-quality photography to a mainstream market. Democratise the art and celebrate these amazing photographers.” says Alex Proud

Based upon a formula of exhibiting accessible shows around popular themes such as Music, Fashion, Film and Photo-Reportage, Proud Galleries instantly took the photography industry by storm.

A series of landmark shows including Destroy: The Sex Pistols, Rankin’s Nudes, The Rock n Roll Years, Underexposed, and Rebel Life: Bob Marley attracted blanket media coverage and full-house, star-studded opening nights.

With up to 10,000 paying customers per show, Proud Galleries soon became known as the most popular private photographic gallery in Europe.

Alex Proud insists it wasn’t a cynical, money-making enterprise. It was born from a genuine love of the art form:

“There were all these incredible archives of work from rock and roll history and no-one was celebrating the photographers, and I thought ‘Why not?!”.

Rankin & Proud

Alex Proud was quickly becoming a respected name on the London art scene. In 1999, Alex Proud, in partnership with photographer Rankin, launched Vision On, a Publishing Company founded upon a parallel mission to produce affordable, high quality photographic books for the mainstream market.

Proud and Vision On worked on high profile book & exhibition projects including the critically acclaimed Nudes, Snatch (book of the Guy Ritchie Film), Tory Story, Nirvana, The Art of Barbie and the Dazed & Confused Annual.

As Alex Proud’s gallery portfolio grew, the gallery embarked on several wildly successful tours with exhibitions held in New York (US), Virginia (US), Amsterdam, Paris, Tokyo, Tel Aviv and Melbourne.

Referred to as the "hippest", "coolest", "most fun" and "most important" photographic Gallery on a regular basis from newspapers as varied as the Sun and Mirror to The Times and The Guardian reporting on the gallery’s star-studded opening nights, for a decade Proud Gallery was the place to be seen.

Celebrity Attention

Red carpet events hosted by Alex Proud typically included musicians, artists, supermodels, fashion designers, politicians, actors, music producers and DJs.

The gallery welcomed: Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman, Sir Elton John, Sir Jackie Stewart, Sir Nikki Lauda, Terence Conran, Trudie Styler, Twiggy, Terry O Neill, Ian Rankin, Giorgio Armani, Alexander McQueen, Jemima Khan, Yasmin and Simon Le Bon, Charles Kennedy, Joanna Lumley, Joan Collins, Roger Moore, Ed Norton, Mark Ronson, Amy Winehouse, Jay Jopling, Sam Taylor Wood, Janet Street Porter, Tracey Emin, Helena Christensen, Mike Figgis, Matthew Williamson, Jodie Kidd, David Coultard, Eddie Irvine, Jude Law, Fearne Cotton, Nicky Haslam, Normsky, Nick Grimshaw, Keith Allen, Jodie Marsh and Ben Fogle.

Bands and musicians included: The Rolling Stones, The Clash, Sex Pistols, Blur, Kasabian, The Streets, Elastica, Bush, Prodigy, So Solid Crew, Supergrass, Primal Scream, Red Hot Chili Peppers and No Doubt,

Alex Proud has been invited to judge several photography competitions including the Nikon Press Awards and The Observer Hodge Awards and in 2008 Proud co-founded the Sony World Photography Award.

From 2013, Alex featured as a returning dealer on the Channel 4 series Four Rooms and is a committed collector himself with an eclectic archive including photography, oriental art, one off and vintage collectibles, and a growing collection of classic sports cars.

A popular commentator on art programmes, and topical television shows, Alex Proud has also had a long running column in The Telegraph online and is a frequent guest on panel shows, prime time radio programmes and as a reviewer on breakfast television but Alex is never there to nod and agree. Famously controversial and often outspoken, it appears Alex has lost none of the sense of mischief and curiosity that inspired him to open the Proud Gallery in the first place.

“I love beautiful things and I want to have fun with what I do.” says Alex Proud.