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Money isn't everything, says art dealer who gave $3m sale profit to charity
Benedict Moore-Bridger31.12.08
A LEADING art dealer has shrugged off the credit crunch by donating 75 per cent of his profits to charity.
Frederick Mulder, who specialises in prints by masters such as Rembrandt and Picasso, has made individual donations of up to £1.5million, saying "money is not everything".
Last year Mr Mulder, who has been an art dealer for 33 years, sold Picasso's 1935 etching La Minotauromachie at the New York Print Fair for more than $3 million.
But rather than spend his earnings on properties or yachts, the 65-year-old donated three quarters to a charitable trust. Mr Mulder, who lives in Belsize Park, told the Evening Standard: "One home is enough and I have no desire for a yacht or private plane.
"I have a nice house which I bought 30 years ago and a 15-year-old VW Golf, which does me fine. I am able to use what money I earn to make some of the changes in the world I want to see."
Canadian-born Mr Mulder came to Britain in 1968 to study for a doctorate in philosophy at Oxford. He then followed his love of art, joining the firm Colnaghi's, owned by Jacob Rothschild, as a dealer.
Thirty years on has an annual turnover of around £2.5 million, selling works to private collectors and museums including the Metropolitan in New York and the British Museum. Six years ago he set up The Funding Network, an organisation that helps the "affluent" make donations to charities.
So far, it has raised more than £1.5 million. He said: "I came from a very poor rural background in western Canada and found myself in a world that has allowed me to do well. It is a great privilege."
Mr Mulder, whose three grown-up children are an actress, environmentalist and student, has even sold parts of his private print collection to fund his philanthropy. He has also given away an artwork to a client and asked them to give away its value in return.
