As he helps hang ethnic textiles from his collection in Sotheby's rooms in Olympia in west London, bare white walls are transformed into a fusion of colour.

ECONOMIST: Art.view: From Rothko to rag dolls | The

Having grown up on the White City estate in the shadow of BBC Television Centre in west London, and working for the corporation as a messenger, Mr George went on to hang around its offices, keeping notes of telephone numbers and picking up copies of the staff magazine, Ariel, the prosecution said.

BBC: Profile: Barry George