Brian and Anna Haughton
■ I shall always remember David with enormous pleasure for his sense of fun, his invariably courteous attitude and his decidedly non-pushy behaviour.
David was without doubt one’s ideal of what journalists should be: always courteous, always knowledgeable, never pushy or unpleasant. You instinctively knew your view was going to be fairly reflected.
If you bumped into David anywhere around the world, be it at the Paris Biennale, in New York or in London, it was always a pleasure to see him and to hear his well-informed viewpoint.
The art world is definitely a poorer place without David.
On behalf of TEFAF I wish to express our gratitude to this remarkable man and I, for one, shall definitely miss him.
Ben Janssens
■ I am deeply saddened by the news that David has passed away. He was a big personality at ATG and became a good friend with whom it was always a pleasure to see at various fairs. His is the perfect example of a life well lived.
Ingrid Nilson
■ It is with great sadness that I hear of my old friend and colleague’s death. I worked with him during his time on Art and Antiques Weekly.
My departure for other forms of journalism and David’s appointment to the Daily Mail did not mean we lost contact.
The art world always seems to be fluid, and plenty of fluids were consumed at what seemed to be endless ‘business’ events we attended.
David had a mischievous and louche sense of humour and his presence was always considered important at any successful gathering. In a world that increasingly subscribes to conformity, I am pleased to say that my late friend was never a subscriber.
John A Hope-Falkner
■ I must have known David for some 45 years as a colleague and a good friend.
He was a fine journalist and rarely, if ever, made a mistake. He had an enquiring mind, always a good attribute in a journalist, and would always find something of interest to say about an exhibition or fair beyond the press release and he was always positive.
A key to his success was a genuine love for the trade and he became everyone’s friend. I am sure an enormous number of people will be saddened by his death.
He usually came to the art fairs I was involved with and I remember his absolute joy at buying a Terry Frost drawing from Irving Grose one year.
Gay Hutson
■ I was deeply saddened to hear of David’s death. He has been a constant throughout my working life from taking me through my paces as a green (and very young) press officer at Christie’s to running a business, with much mentoring along the way. Every encounter was memorable – and often accessorised with a large glass of wine nearby!
Freya Simms
■ Back in the early 1970s Art and Antiques Weekly revolutionised the approach to antiques dealing. It was weekly and in colour, seeking to bring buyers closer to the trade rather than so many other publications aimed at museum directors and the top 1% of collectors.
When David needed a colour illustration for the magazine, we would deliver a transparency or photograph to him in his offices under the arches in Charing Cross.
Once he had approved the picture it was not unusual to transfer the business discourse to a nearby wine cellar. His love of life and conviviality would shine like a beacon as others, finding his office door locked, found their way to the cellar to join the impromptu party.
David Harvey
■ The iconic David Moss seems always to have been part of my working life. He would be there wherever we exhibited: TEFAF Maastricht, Olympia, Grosvenor House, Asian Art London or Masterpiece. There cannot have been many international fairs David did not cover.
Always friendly and interested in the latest trade news, he was a fixture and feature in the antiques world. He had a large group of fans, which one year during an Asian Art London party we dubbed the ‘Mossy Posse’. I am greatly saddened by the news of David’s passing, the end of an era of art trade journalism and the loss of a charming personality for our world.
Nynke van der Ven-van Wyngaarden
■ The Chelsea Arts Club in 1985 was the most appropriate place to meet David Moss for the first time. He immediately came across as highly engaging, instantly opinionated and hugely amusing.
We ‘bonded’ at the bar that evening, not over antiques or journalism, but a mutual admiration for the Kinks.
David became a close friend but professionally he never made life easy for those of us charged with eliciting favourable comment on the Moss page. David was always great company, full of fascinating anecdotes and insight but with time to listen to others. Hours spent at the bar with David were never wasted. I shall miss him enormously.
Duncan Phillips
