The late Philip Hewat-Jaboor.
Hewat-Jaboor, who died earlier this year aged 68 after a brief illness, had been chairman of the London fair since 2012 and his involvement stretches back to the first edition in 2010 where he chaired the vetting committee.
Lucie Kitchener, managing director of Masterpiece, said: “The art world will be a lesser place without him. His expertise, passion for collecting, desire to share what he knew and sheer joy of life were unparalleled and I was lucky to count him not just as a colleague but as a very dear friend.”
The organisers of Masterpiece note that Hewat-Jaboor’s dedication to “connoisseurship, learning, beauty and excellence translates across every aspect of the fair. A mentor to so many, Philip was passionate about building an art market for the future, championing a new generation of specialists, collectors and curators.
“His legacy of openness and curiosity is central to Masterpiece and will be celebrated at the forthcoming edition in June.”
Sotheby's start
Hewat-Jaboor started his career at Sotheby’s after attending the second Sotheby’s works of art school. He helped launch Sotheby’s Belgravia and later, after leaving the auction house, he became an art adviser and set up his own company, Vitruvius, selling marble works of art.
In the 1980s he ran Hatfields Restoration and then continued to be an adviser known for promoting ‘crosscollecting’, blending the old with the new.
Alongside his expertise in exhibition curation, Hewat-Jaboor will be remembered for his love of imperial porphyry – the Egyptian deep purple stone.
He loved the colour so much he was often dressed in it and even customised his Bentley car.
Living between New York and the UK with his partner of 30 years, the US hatter Rod Keenan, the pair later settled on the Channel Islands, in Jersey.
