Alexander Cohane Limited

          I was fortunate to grow up in a beautiful Georgian Gothic house in Ireland in the 1960′s and 70′s. My father, Jack, had retired relatively young after having built a successful advertising agency in New York City. He went to Ireland for 10 days with his new bride, my mother Heather, to check out his roots and stayed 20 years.

My father devoted himself to writing and became intrigued with the early history of man–He spent 4 years tracing the migratory pattern of the world through place names and published his findings in his book “The Key.” As a young boy, I would be taken on trips to explore various prehistoric sites and invariably, being small, I would be sent down to inspect dolmens–prehistoric graves–and would report back my findings.

In Ireland at that time, far greater emphasis was placed on being a good horseman than on attending school. By the time I was sent away at eight for an English education, I lagged behind in the classroom. However, history always inspired me and I felt connected to those who had travelled the world before me.

Upon leaving school, I moved to the US and lived in New York City for nearly 20 years. In 1987, my mother had a great idea for a magazine and with little experience and limited funds we launched Quest magazine. Our lack of experience actually helped us in many ways because we were able to challenge the norm and succeeded in making it interesting and different. Quest continues to publish while the family’s interest has been sold.

As the Millennium approached, I decided to move to London. As a result of redecorating a small property there, my dormant passion for the beautiful and the aesthetic ignited. What began as a fascination with the late 19th Century has spread into all manner of periods and styles. My tendency has been to be led by my eye and when I discover a wonderful piece to then expand my knowledge both about the piece and the period. I find myself drawn to those pieces that stand out, that have a certain simplicity and purity of design, the common denominator being timelessness. This for me defines a stand-out piece.

I am a great advocate of mixing styles and periods believing that skilful juxtaposition makes each piece more interesting.

I am fortunate to be assisted by Ellie Smith and we spend a great deal of time hunting down pieces in Europe, the UK and the US.

I live in a lovely farmhouse in the Oxfordshire countryside with my beautiful Labradors, Izzy, Wilf and Bella. It is very magical, and here I am able to recharge between travels.