Over the last few years, the art the world has finally woken up to the prospect of selling online. Yes, the global reach of the world wide web has shone a serious spotlight on the intimate surroundings of the world’s leading galleries, but now there’s a site that goes one step further, Printed Editions – the brainchild of one Michael Lieberman; a domain that brings high quality, limited edition prints (the work of both Old and Modern Masters to cutting edge artists) to the discerning collector. And in a world where stock markets are crashing, property (bar central London) is still volatile, buyers are investing like never before, and for good reason...
 
Yes this is Lieberman’s second career (for twelve years he was an accountant) and boy has life turned around in the process; ‘I hated it!’ he says with a smile. ‘I mostly fell into it because I didn’t know what else to do, and then after twelve years it was a case of ‘You know what? I can’t do this anymore’. Luckily for him this ‘spiral’ led to bigger and better things; ‘I was trading prints as a sideline, and it overtook what I was doing. I’m very passionate about what I do.’


Passion is what Lieberman is all about, he's taught himself from the ground up; an MA from the school of life; ‘I can’t draw to save my life!’ he laughs with good grace; ‘I really can’t, but I’ve always been interested in it. I find looking at pictures much more enjoyable than numbers and words. But yeah, no technical background – no Fine Art History or any of that. I am constantly learning art history as part of the business.’

With the expertise covered, I wonder what other challenges Michael faces?‘You can have a great business, a great shop, a great website… But if no one knows about it, it’s not a great business. That’s the biggest challenge. On the internet, things happen which always amaze me. People find you from anywhere on the planet. You’re automatically international… It’s all there to be taken.’
 
Visibility is evidently key, but what of the rewards for all the hard work? ‘Well, the fact that I’ve got some of the best galleries and publishers who see the value of the site and the opportunities to reach new customers. They’re putting their name and reputation to it, and they’re supporting it, it’s brilliant.’ But how, I wonder, did he set about getting these key galleries onboard? As ever it’s his can-do attitude that’s key; ‘Some I literally cold call. Most of what I do though, I just email them,’ but then that personal touch, the gift of the gab always comes in handy; ‘To hear a human voice, actually see someone, actually meet someone, is not always the norm, you know, they appreciate it. I’m just constantly reinforcing what I do in my emails!’
 
What does he think of the way the online gallery space is going? ‘It’s easy now – everything’s accessible. Twenty, thirty years ago, the only way you would see art was if you happened to be at a gallery. If you liked it and you could afford it, you’d buy it. That’d be it. Now it’s all very open and you can price compare stuff, especially prints. That’s changed things. Now people do everything on the phone as well. It’s just instant.’


It's joie de vivre with which Lieberman attacks the role; a lust for life evident in his mannerisms; the grip of a firm handshake, the vernacular with which he describes the average day. Even through the recession he's battled on through; ‘There’s no doubt everyone’s affected,’ he says. ‘For some people it’s harder than others. Other people have got one or two big clients who have got to do stuff with their money. People are looking for different ways of working which is why I think Printed Editions has been okay because it provides galleries with an affordable platform to get their prints promoted. Dealers are listing hundreds of thousands’ worth of prints on there, which are being constantly promoted.'
 
So if money were no object, what would he buy? ‘Superman by Andy Warhol and any seascape by Hiroshi Sugimoto, that’s what I'd like,’ he says, to complement (no doubt) the Richard Avedon photography of The Beatles already lighting up his wall. His tastes are; ‘Very eclectic.’ Art mirroring life then. For a moment we hark back to that previous career; a parallel train track running so close to his own. ‘I knew I couldn’t wear a suit for the next 40 years!’ he laughs, the relief palpable, ‘Funnily enough I was going through my papers a couple of months ago and I found some old career advice from ’86; potential jobs. One of them was an accountant, and one of them was an art dealer. I’ve still got it. It’s bizarre.’ Two paths narrowly converging, luckily he's definitely on the right one. 'I’m pleased I’m not going to look around and think: “Yeah, I was an accountant for 30 years. I wish I’d done something else.” I don’t need that conversation.’
 
Interview by Alice Kahrmann April 2013.