Matthew Ward is the Gallery Director at Air Fine Art on Cheltenham’s beautiful and famous Promenade that dates to 1818 at the height of the Regency period, when the avenue of elms and horse chestnut trees were first planted.

Matthew has been established in the world of high-end luxury retail for over 37 years cutting his teeth in prestigious locations such as Saville Row, liberty department store, Selfridges, Harrods, and many other iconic shopping destinations in the heart of London’s West End.

Whilst Gallery Director is a new direction for Matthew, he has always been passionate about art and has dreamed of becoming an artist since being a kid. “Having developed a high-performance culture in all roles, I was very happy to take up the position at Air Fine Art and continue a journey that started with my first Saturday job at 14 years old, working in an art supply store, it’s not the end of the story, one day Ill paint again and maybe see my work on the wall….we can all dream”

Matthew is passionate about creating a warm and engaging environment for clients to come and view art and showcase artists from all over the world with a focus on quality and individuality and is very much looks forward to welcoming both established clients and first-time buyers into the gallery.

I have a natural aptitude for understating art, having grown up around the art and decorative world and working at art fairs with my family from a young age. I studied contemporary art which had a business component at Bath School of Art. It was there that I discovered my interest in the Art Market.

Feeling inspired by how art connects to different people for different emotional reasons, I decided working as an Art Consultant would be the perfect role for me. I strive for a friendly and personable experience to everyone that walks through the door.