The fair organisers
Roland Belgrave
By Michael Diemar
By Michael Diemar
Roland Belgrave, based in Brighton and Hove on the English south coast, has been a leading dealer in the vintage photography market for nearly three decades. In recent years, her has also ventured into contemporary photography. He exhibits at art fairs, book fairs, tabletop fairs and in November 2025, he is making his debut at Paris Photo.
I started by asking about his early interest in photography.
My father is a camera collector and a passionate amateur photographer. Being surrounded by his old Leica cameras and the constant talk of aperture, ISO, film and which lenses to use, it certainly caught my interest when growing up. I had cameras from a very early age and the satisfaction from a taking a good image was lasting and deeply satisfying.
Can you talk a little bit about your background and your education?
I was born and brought up in Rome, Italy. I am French/English. Early education was at an international school, followed by boarding schools in the UK. Both degree and post graduate studies were in London. The arts were an early interest. It was during my MA in the History of Art that I wanted to become a curator and began working in the British Museum Print Room. Shortly after, The Print Room at the Bibliothèque Nationale followed and I became really interested in prints and photographs. I was interested in a curatorial career. This was turned on its head when I joined Shapero Rare Books, where I became a dealer.
And I first met you when you were working for Bernard Shapero Rare Books. Were you in charge of books as well as photographs?
I oversaw the photographic department and it included books, albums and fine art photography. Shapero Rare Books is one of the leading antiquarian booksellers in central London. Back when I joined, they were world renowned for travel and exploration. There was also a gallery and an auction house which was run under one umbrella. We exhibited at numerous art fairs globally and the experience was incredible. I decided there and then that being a dealer was my calling. The freedom, the excitement of a deal and the dynamic nature of the job was what I was looking for. The focus of the photography at Bernard Shapero was predominately antiquarian in nature and we specialized in Travel and Exploration.
Was there a crossover clientele?
We sold to a variety of clients both private and institutional. Every client’s collecting habits were unique to their vision and passion. There was constant crossover with many collecting subject matter that was not exclusive to a particular medium but rather to subject matter.
When did you strike out on your own?
I set up on my own business in 2010.
Did you initially focus on one area or period?
Initially and for some time after, I carried on dealing in early travel and exploration, areas that were selling strongly at the time. Rare early albums and single photographs.
You then expanded into contemporary work. How was that different from dealing in classic photography?
For the past 5/6 years I have been showing contemporary works at Photo London. It was really through necessity because the fair was bringing in an audience that were not really that interested in 19th century photography. Tastes were changing, rapidly. I had some good clients who were investing in contemporary environmental photography and so I began to show this as a theme. The selling points and audience differed a little between my usual audience and new clients who had begun buying my contemporary artists works.
Over the years, you have exhibited at both big fairs like Photo London and tabletop fairs. Apart from pricing and display, what are the differences?
Remarkably little differs from a top tier art fair and tabletop event in my view. Apart from the obvious, I have exhibited at countless fairs over the globe and frequently see works at tabletop events that if framed correctly can easily hold their own at a top Armory show in New York! Or Paris Photo in the Grand Palais. A passionate collector will always be seen at the good tabletop event and these one-day fairs are usually great fun, bringing together like-minded collectors and enthusiasts, filling the event with an energy that I rarely see at top tier events. Having said this, for contemporary photography, it seems that larger more formal fairs are needed to reach a broader audience that would not attend a tabletop fair, which generally specializes in vintage works.
This year, you will be showing at Paris Photo for the first time. What will you be showing?
I am very excited to be showing at the Paris Photo Fair. I will be showing exclusively contemporary works in a curated space that has as its premise, new ways of looking at photography. The artists that I will be showing are Baud Postma, Noelle Mason and Maria Aurelia Reise. They use analogue methods and processes, along with the re-contextualizing and appropriation of imagery to create their works of art. The artists use image technologies of the past in the image-making technologies of the future. The works are both decorative and political in nature. I believe that the nature of collecting has shifted in the last few years with institutional buying increasingly under pressure to cater for the next generation and the fast-changing tastes and political and cultural views of its audience.