A real collector is someone for whom collecting is not an addiction but a passion. No matter how many works he has, he knows them all and loves them equally, from the most valuable to the humblest. Often the least valuable has a special place in a collector's heart. It may have some private meaning or it may even be the first purchase the collector ever made and so may symbolise the door to the great rewards of collecting. These are the privileges of always being surrounded by exceptional things; constantly being challenged to look; and the spiritual riches which result from the companionship of works of art.   Collectors often begin collecting with their 'ears' but those who decipher the problem of seeing art soon bring to bear the two instruments which are essential in putting together a collection: the eyes and the brain. The third prerequisite is of course money, but that alone is not enough. Many of those who have formed their collections with 'money' and 'ears' have lived in grand delusion about their possessions.   Show me a private collection and I will tell you if it has been put together with money or with passion. And for those who may think that passion is blind like love, let me assure them that collecting with passion means to make the most of all those things which nature has endowed us with for the sake of survival; intelligence, caution, intuition, discrimination, ingenuity, restraint, common sense and cunning. The more of these you use, the less money you may need.   Forming a collection is an act of personal enlightenment; it is a crystallising of ideas. A collection reflects the interests of the collector and mirrors the taste of a period. It is a privileged trial and error creation of a nucleus of civilisation. It is also a discovering of one's own place in one's time.   A good private collection is the alternative museum. What society creates through bureaucracy and committees, the collector forms by himself. And it is worth noting that the passion of the collector is often ahead of the cautious reserve of the committee.   Not all important works of art can find a home in a museum. Until that happens the private collection is the safest place for them to be. This foster home provides them with sanctuary, with space, air, security, the right atmosphere for them to be comfortable in, and it gives them love. Paintings need to be looked at and the devotion of a collector is legion. A collection without this prerequisite is not a collection. (Hearst's 'priceless object' was obviously not lavished with the collector's love.)   A good collection always reflects the personality of the collector. The eccentricities of collectors ensure that all kinds of works of art are preserved - otherwise we might only pass a limited stereotype to posterity. Private collections help to preserve a variety of possibilities.   In each private collection which is a true collection there is a painting which is its heart. It is the nucleus on which a cluster of works has crystallised to form something special and unique. It is this which makes a private collection fascinating.   A private collection is a constellation of works of art, with a pattern and a direction. Looking at a private collection is totally different to viewing an auction sale. By seeing a collection we extend our knowledge, and widen our experience - as we discover the personality, character, passion and the persistence which has produced a significant collection.   A great deal of wealth has always been wasted on private follies and indulgences, but in spite of what some people may think, money spent on the acquisition of works of art is well spent. Those who throw away money on gambling or even baser pursuits are probably damning their soul. The collector who really loves his collection saves his soul and posterity benefits from his passion. The collector forms the collection and the collection rewards him by making him an expert.     Lou Klepac "A Very Private Collection" A quote from an exhibition held at the SH Ervin Gallery National Trust Centre July 1990   to Art Advisor