'Elton and George are the new Medicis: they have money, influence and no taste' - Independent Online Edition > This Britain

'Elton and George are the new Medicis: they have money, influence and no taste' - Independent Online Edition > This Britain: "'Elton and George are the new Medicis: they have money, influence and no taste'
A new generation of multimillionaire art collectors stands accused of skewing the market and pricing out the public galleries. Now, some of them are silencing their critics by opening up their collections for free
By Andrew Johnson
Published: 15 July 2007

Between them they own art worth approximately £1bn. If an Emin or Hirst is not on public display, the chances are it's on the wall of the warehouse of one of the new British collectors whose fabulous wealth is funding a contemporary art boom in much the same way as the Medicis dominated 15th-century Florence or the Guggenheims 20th-century New York.

Now, like their predecessors, today's collectors are turning to philanthropy and opening free art galleries or loaning out work so their collections can be aired in public."