Ian Rosenfeld died in February 2025, leaving behind two young sons, Danny and Isaac. I was approached by his brother to piece together stories about their father’s rich and varied life in the form of a biography, primarily to ensure that the boys would in time be able to have a strong sense of their father through the lens of the many lives he impacted during his own.

Having only met Ian briefly myself, I feel privileged to have been trusted by so many of his family, friends and colleagues, who have been willing to honour Ian by ensuring that their recollections portray him with loving admiration and, at times, brutal honesty.

The biography itself, to be published later this year, is a compilation of those stories but what follows here is simply a chronological digest to provide a glimpse of the man behind this tremendous collection. I hope it’ll provide some context for those of you who did not have the opportunity to meet him.    

Born in 1952, Ian grew up in a warm, lively family with an unspoken assumption that, being the eldest son, he would one day join the family business. In many ways, Ian’s life would have been easier had he done just that, but he was a creative and had no affinity with the world of commerce.

Like many teenagers, Ian’s first engagement with art started with music. He amassed a  vast vinyl collection, some of which were chosen as much for their iconic front cover designs as for the music itself. He read music magazines & gig reviews and spent time at many of Soho’s second-hand record shops as he broadened his taste to include jazz and classical. He acquired his first camera and began experimenting with photography, attended Art House films, art galleries and exhibitions and harboured a dream to be a film director - which proved not simply to be a passing whim.

Ian’s first experience of perceived failure was not getting into Oxford to read Economics. Arguably, it was his sense of failing academically which ignited his enduring passion for learning. In this instance, he channelled his disappointment into doing what he truly wanted and read Communication Studies at Central London Polytechnic, where he thrived.

After graduating, Ian optimistically set off to Los Angeles in the hope of getting into film school but failed. He took a job in a shipping company and reapplied. However, having been rejected not once but twice, he spiralled into depression and to his family’s relief, returned to London a year later.  He knew that the constraints of office life and the family business were not for him, and went from job to job trying to settle. While working as a taxi driver, an advertisement for an English teacher in Venice grabbed his attention and with utter clarity knew this was his opportunity to start afresh.

Ian was already familiar with Venice having holidayed there with his family, but this was an entirely new experience. With camera in tow, he freely roamed the streets, immersing himself in every cultural direction and before long felt himself begin to physically and mentally thaw from years of pent-up frustration. Looking at the city through the eyes of his camera reawakened his creative engagement with life, making him realise what he had been missing. During the two years he spent in the city, the sensual, poetic quality of Venetian art appealed to him on an entirely new level, now he was able to relate to the complexities of what it meant to be human, and its emphasis on luminous colour began to influence his photography. Now opera became his new choice of music to which he introduced his sons.

Despite having suffered from nephritis, a rare auto-immune disease at the age of seven, Ian acquired a unique ability to detach himself from it on a daily basis, yet became more attuned to his broader vulnerability and sought spiritual solace through private, daily prayer. Arguably, it was this blend of a spiritual and humanist approach to his life which drew Ian to Florence, the Capital of the Renaissance, which he made his home for the next twenty-five years.

On the outskirts of the city, up a long dirt track and peacefully hidden amongst olive groves was a small annex to a working farmhouse which became his ideal retreat. Despite its leaking roof, it provided a serene backdrop for his writing and an easy drive on his Vespa to the city centre. He lived amongst towers of records and a chaos of books and art reviews. Unwashed coffee mugs filled the sink and there was notably nothing to eat because he used the space in his small fridge to keep his camera film cool.

Ian travelled around Italy, familiarising himself with its ancient cities and enjoying each town’s unique culture. Along the way, he sent photos to publishers and was thrilled on getting his first commission. Inspired by his own home, with its heavy ancient beams, cracked tiled floor and large open fireplace, Ian roamed through Bologna and nearby villages, shooting features such as their azzurro splintered shutters against peeling ochre walls and traditional old wells.

The photos were exceptional and a second commission swiftly followed. Ian knew exactly where to go. Ferrara. Inspired by Venice’s shifting mist, he caught the flowing “chiaroscuro” of the city through soft focus lenses and diffusion filters so only its strongest architectural features shone through the haze. Again, the photos were considered exceptional and were exhibited in the National Art Gallery of Ferrara.

“He’s one of the kindest people I ever met. He doesn’t just invest in your work but you as a person. He managed to combine critiquing your work, offering creative ideas and giving you total freedom to take your own direction.”

~ Ndidi Emefiele

Throughout the 1980’s continued working on film scripts, while studying Old Masters. He gained tremendous knowledge and built a highly regarded reputation in the field. During this time, he met Dario Porcini whose family owned a gallery in Naples. It was their shared interest in Old Masters which led him to start a collaboration and they became the closest of friends. 

Ian was truly in his stride, but gradually his kidney function deteriorated to the extent that in the early 1990’s he had to return to London frequently for treatment.  He remained forever indebted to his mother, for whom his love and gratitude was immeasurable as, in 1994 against initial medical advice due to her age, she successfully donated him one of her kidneys.

His creative energy came surging back as the Bosnian war was reaching its peak of savagery. Ian watched the Srebrenica massacre of Muslims in horror which inspired his film “Doors of Memory”.  

What struck Ian most was the senseless inability to communicate between people who had lived side by side for generations, and that became the central theme of his film. The film is set during the late 1970’s and takes place during the course of a single night. A Russian Jew wakes to find he is suddenly only able to speak Yiddish to his Polish Catholic lover and she no longer recognises him.  An artist, he attempts to communicate with her by painting on a door.  It takes him twelve separate doors before she fully remembers who he is, by which time she had fallen out of love and their relationship is over. The film was previewed (and the doors themselves exhibited) at the Venice Film Festival to critical acclaim.

Walking past galleries in London, he found himself becoming drawn to contemporary art. He admired the aesthetic and technical skill of realism associated with Old Masters, but increasingly liked contemporary arts’ freedom of expression and engagement with social and political ideas, just as his film “Doors of Memory” had. One day, having attended a Sotheby’s auction, he went outside and was struck by a Leonardo Drew work hanging in the window of a contemporary gallery on the opposite side of the street. He walked across the road, stepped inside and, within minutes bought it.

Fired up by his first contemporary acquisition, Ian persuaded Dario Porcini to consider broadening out into contemporary art alongside Old Masters, and dare to host a Leonardo Drew exhibition in his family gallery in Naples.

Drew’s art is inspired by his father’s life working in the steel plants in Texas. He collects symbolically charged materials associated with African American imagery such as scrap metal, cotton, rope, rags, decaying rubbish and gave them new life by making them into works of art. When Drew’s exhibits were installed ready for the opening, he and Ian went outside to find a café. Drew recollects:  

“We wandered through the streets in Naples at the time when there happened to be a refuse strike. We came across an alleyway full of waste bins and the stench hit us… for me it was gold dust! Ian knew exactly what I was after and we both dug straight in, up to our elbows, rats jumping out at us! He pulled out some great stuff which we carried back, people staring at us like we were mad! Better still, I actually made a new sculpture out of it in time to add to my exhibition! I love that man…”

In 2012, when Ian opened Gallery Rosenfeld in London, no matter what other people advised, he chose only to display works that fascinated him. Current trends and commercial potential didn’t come into it. Going his own way came naturally to Ian, and he wanted to keep the gallery vibrant by exhibiting the works of artists straight out of college, alongside the works of established artists in their prime of their careers, whom he represented.

Photographer, film director, art collector and gallerist, his extraordinary journey to self-fulfilment and his ultimate triumph was not through his own creativity but that of others, for which he was truly grateful, and which is reflected throughout the depth of his collection.

There are five hundred years between Ian’s two favoured periods of art and yet they are one and the same. Both display an outpouring of emotion which resonate with the onlooker regardless of realism or technique. What mattered to Ian was the artists’ ability to communicate and leave a lasting impression. If Danny and Isaac are to remember their father for any one thing, aside from his deep unquestioning love for them, it must be his natural charm, genuine interest in others, and his devotion to the art of communication.

“He came to my studio in Romania and wanted to know everything about me, my art, cultural influences and deep faith as an Orthodox Christian. I had never received that level of intellectual engagement with any other gallerist. He never spoke about his Jewish faith but it was clear he was a very spiritual man and my work resonated with him on many levels.”

~ Teodora Axente

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Auction Details

Wednesday 28 January 2026 | 10.30am GMT
Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE

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VIEWING:

• Viewing in London (highlights): The Clock House, 11 John Street, WC1N 2EB
  • Tuesday 13 January: 11am-3pm
  • Wednesday 14 January: 11am-3pm
  • Thursday 15 January: 11am-3pm
• Viewing in Newbury (full sale): Donnington Priory, RG14 2JE
  • Sunday 25 January: 10am-3pm
  • Monday 26 January: 10am-4pm
  • Tuesday 27 January: 10am-4pm
  • Wednesday 28 January: 9am-4pm

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