An older colleague of mine once told me he divided clients into two groups, buyers and collectors. "Buyers," he said, "are looking for something they can live with; collectors are looking for something they can't live without." Perhaps the statement is a little unfair, but the desire to collect does seem to be innate in some people and grows over time, as awareness, budget, and opportunities expand. This inquisitive nature separates most collectors from non-collectors or "buyers," to use my colleague's terminology. Buyers often look for the familiar, the safe, the homogenous; collectors for the unexpected, the unusual, the rare.

All of which means, that in a field as rich as British watercolors, there is something for everyone. Some collectors prefer highly finished "exhibition watercolors," works often rich in descriptive detail. These watercolors, calculated to show the artist's technical skill and inventiveness, are public statements, often treating a grand historical theme or famous piece of real estate. Other collectors prefer the spontaneity, ambiguity, or quickness of a sketch or the charm and mystery of anonymous ("unattributed") works.

In British art, as many collectors will tell you, some of the most enchanting images are the least pretentious. Often they are quite small: drawn or painted on a page of a sketchbook in styles that range from elegant and summary to quirky and amateur.