​​Meet Alan, your London private guide to the art and history of this bustling capital.

Growing up in Edinburgh, Alan’s early fascination with history and heritage was inspired by Scotland’s unrivaled wealth of castles, abbeys, and stately homes. He studied at Glasgow University, completing an MA in History of Art that incorporated everything from classical sculpture to medieval architecture and modernist design. This led him to a career in the London art world. After working as both an antique dealer and an auctioneer, he ended up as a senior specialist in Contemporary Art at an international auction house.

A return to academia in 2010 set him on a new course – reviving his love of history, he completed a master’s degree in Classical Civilisation at Birkbeck, the University of London, which focused on the art, culture, and society of ancient Greece and Rome. This was followed by a Ph.D. at the same institution during which he researched eighteenth-century attitudes towards the classical world. He continues to write on both Contemporary Art and history, and his first book, Classical Caledonia, was published by Edinburgh University Press in 2020. Much of his recent research has focused on how the ancient world has been interpreted, emulated, and collected over the last three centuries.

When not reading, writing, or talking about art and history, Alan enjoys walking in the English countryside and holidaying in Scotland. He is also a regular visitor to France, where he spends his time rooting around in antique shops and sampling the local cuisine. He is a music fan with a particular interest in early and baroque music, and he relaxes by playing the piano and the harpsichord.