Park West Auctioneer Spotlight: Dimitri de Gouveia
Auctioneer Dimitri de Gouveia visiting the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia
Park West’s onboard art teams take great pride in building meaningful relationships with our collectors. For over 50 years, they’ve experienced firsthand just how personal art collecting can be. That’s why, every month, we take time to dive into the lives of our top auctioneers!
For our September Auctioneer Spotlight, we’re shining our light on Dimitri de Gouveia! We invite you to learn more about him, including some of his favorite Park West moments, what his life at home looks like when he isn’t traveling the world, and how he became an international art auctioneer!
Please list your previous ships as an Auctioneer:
Carnival (CCL) Imagination, CCL Dream, CCL Vista, Norwegian Gem, Holland America Eurodam, Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas, Celebrity Summit, Celebrity Infinity, Island Princess, Crown Princess
Where is your hometown?
Cape Town, South Africa
When did you start working as an international art auctioneer?
I was a representative of Toyota/Lexus Cape Town and even back then I realized that I love to work with people. It was only until I came across some friends who were auctioneers who thought I would be well suited to Park West. When I finally did my first artist presentation on Marcus Glenn, it sparked a fire I never knew existed. Ironically enough, just a week later that same artist became the official artist for the Grammy awards, and I couldn’t believe that one day I could represent him all around the world!
Auctioneer Dimitri de Gouveia enjoying a well-deserved team dinner onboard the Celebrity Summit with Park West team members (L to R) Tyrone Wright, Dimitri de Gouveia, Bojan Tadic, Janine Tope, & Kate Saxon
Who is your favorite Park West artist and why?
This is something many of my collectors would agree with, we all have a favorite, but it is something that changes continuously as Park West is always evolving with new talent and art. As of this moment, I love Stephen Fishwick. Ask me a week from now and I will probably have another. His artwork can be described as energy contained & captured onto the canvas, with colors that command your attention; a true showstopper.
What is your favorite client memory?
As we are going through the current pandemic, I can certainly say that the one thing all seafarers miss the most is the connections we have made with fellow cruisers, as without them we simply wouldn’t be able to do what we love. Now there are just too many collectors I’ve had an amazing experience with, but two families simply blew myself and my team away. Every day they would stop into the gallery, share their experiences, knowledge, kindness and especially laughter with us, so much so that they became FAMILY. This is what myself and my team aim for, memories that will last a lifetime and these collectors just made it so easy.
Dimitri de Gouveia with Park West collectors on the Crown Princess
Out of all of your adventures around the world, what has been your favorite port?
The adventures will keep on going & I still have many places to see, however I would have to say Santorini, Greece, is still my number one port.
What does a day/life look like when you’re at home or not working?
Wearing a suit everyday for months at a time, guest would think I sleep in them, but when I am home, it’s usually board shorts, flip flops & casual tops. Some wouldn’t even recognize me, lol.
Tell us one thing about living and working at sea that would surprise most people.
Many people generally are surprised that we can go months without seeing family, and the truth is we do sacrifice a lot. However, what they may not know is that everyone on the ship is family, you see your friends every day, you meet new people every cruise and when we reach port, we have an exciting new place we can call home for a while.
Is there anything else you’d like to share about yourself or share with collectors?
During these times of uncertainty and many times like it in the past, one thing has always been a constant that is we always overcome hardships. However, it’s the trying times that help us appreciate the good things even more. So from myself and my team, no matter where we are in the world, if we run into you on the cruise ship, we look forward to reminding you about the good things in life.
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Interested in learning more about starting a career hosting art auctions on cruise ships? Visit Art Auctions Abroad for more details.
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