Charles Saatchi

In 1973, Charles Saatchi married Doris Dibley. She was an art enthusiast and would often go with Charles to buy different pieces. At the time of their marriage, she was an art and design journalist.

In 1991, he married Kay Hartenstein and had a daughter, Phoebe. The couple divorced after ten years together.

In 2003, he married Nigella Lawson. In 2013 they had a public argument which was photographed by paparazzi. The police charged him with assault and the couple divorced.

Charles Saatchi was born on June 9, 1943 in Baghdad, Iraq, to Nathan Saatchi and Daisy Ezer. He was raised in a large, well-off family and has three brothers.

His family was Jewish and began suffering from Jewish persecution and hence decided to move to London, in 1947. They lived comfortably in northern London in a huge house with eight bedrooms.

He received his early education from Christ’s College secondary school and later on studied at the London College of Communication. While at school, he became obsessed with US pop culture.

Charles Saatchi’s first job was as copywriter at Benton & Bowles. It was here that he met an art director, Ross Cramer, with whom he partnered up to work at ‘Collett Dickenson Pearce’ and ‘John Collins & Partners’.

In 1967, he and Cramer decided to leave their positions with John Collins & Partners. Together, they opened CramerSaatchi a creative consultancy. They took some clients directly and also offered consultancy with advertisement agencies.

In 1969, he bought his first art piece; it was by Sol LeWitt. It was not too long before he began collecting art as a hobby. Once he even purchased an entire show by Robert Mangold.

In 1970, he decided to begin a partnership with his brother Maurice. They created an advertisement agency called Saatchi & Saatchi.

In 1985, he created the Saatchi Gallery. It exhibited all the art he had in his collection which had been rapidly growing since his first purchase. His gallery quickly gained fame as a place that displayed minimalists and pop artists who had not gained a lot of fame yet. Such artists included Andy Warhol, Brice Marden, and Roy Lichtenstein.

By 1986, Saatchi & Saatchi grew to be one of the largest advertising agencies in the world. At the time the company had over 600 offices around the globe. The agency’s success was brought to the forefront when they created and promoted the famous Margaret Thatcher “Labour Isn’t Working” slogan. In 1989 alone, the revenue from the company was $3.2 billion.

Charles Saatchi is credited with creating a movement that changed art history. He made young British pop and conceptualist art more accessible and well-known. This type of art became a movement which spread worldwide and is said to have influenced many artists.