West Midlands Peaky Blinder fan club chairman Derek Brennan and The Office Bar & Restaurant owner Tony McKeon. Featured art (L-R): 'Flanders Blues' and 'Tommy & Alfie First Meeting', both £575. 

From art novice to curator

Tony's collection began after he came across a Jon Jones exhibition at our gallery in Birmingham's Mailbox shopping centre. He explains: "I was in the gallery and I was listening to people from Liverpool, Manchester and London saying which ones they would have. I thought, 'Hang on a minute, all of these paintings are going to disappear and us Brummies aren't going to be able to see them.' So I said to the fine art consultant that I'd take six, and I've been collecting from Castle Fine Art ever since! The team was so helpful: they showed me around the gallery and told me more information about Jon Jones, where the artwork originated from and the backstory." 

Art that inspires a passion

Following the exhibition, Tony was inspired to attend a tour by the English historian and broadcaster Carl Chinn, who is himself a great-grandson of a Peaky Blinders gang member. He says: "I just got hooked on the subject. Obviously I love the TV series: I like how it talks about the IRA, the Mafia and all of the things I didn't believe happened in the 1920s. Some of it is fiction, some of it is true, and I was fascinated. That's where it all began, I suppose. Then when I saw the hotel, which dates back to 1898, I knew straight away that the architecture and its history would be a fantastic fit for a Peaky Blinders theme, making it the perfect place to share my passion with people from all over the world."