Park West Gallery Art Auctioneer Spotlight: Lloyd Rose
When Park West’s art auctioneers tell people what they do for a living, a common reaction is “Wait, WHAT?” Meeting a lawyer or a dentist is a common experience, but how often do you meet someone who sells fine art on cruise ships all over the world? Often, this leads to many questions about the international art auctioneer lifestyle. People want to know about living on a cruise ship, conducting auctions, and everything in between!
That’s why we interview one of our amazing cruise auctioneers each month to learn more about their favorite experiences working as a Park West auctioneer. This month, we’re highlighting Lloyd Rose—or Rosey, as he is known to some—one of our fantastic auctioneers currently aboard Carnival Vista!
Lloyd turns it on while presenting the art of Andrew Bone at one of his shipboard art auctions.
Please list your previous ships as an Auctioneer: Norwegian (NCL) Star, (NCL) Jade, Royal Caribbean (RCL) Oasis of the seas, Princess (PCL) Grand, (PCL) Emerald, Celebrity Summit, Carnival (CCL) Imagination, (CCL) Sensation, (CCL) Breeze, (CCL) Magic, (CCL) Glory, (CCL) Vista, (CCL) Triumph, (CCL) Freedom
What is your current ship? Carnival (CCL) Vista out of Galveston, Texas—one of the top home ports in the world!
1). Where is your hometown?
Originally, I am from South Africa, but now I live in a little town on the Baltic coast called Klaipeda in Lithuania, with a massive population of 153,000 people. Lithuania is famous for abundant forests, flatlands, lakes, and marshes. If you are looking to go treasure hunting, our sandy beaches boast a ton of amber. Today, Lithuanian is one of only two Baltic Languages spoken in the world.
2). When did you start working as an international art auctioneer?
I started as Auctioneer in 2014 and never looked back. Before Park West, I was a shopping expert on cruise ships helping guests around the world collect gorgeous, sparkly jewelry. While traveling to Bermuda, I had the good fortune of meeting some amazing people, Anthony and Martin Botha, and it was from there that I started attending all the art auctions onboard. I fell in love with the teams and the artists that came on stage and, without even knowing it, I was transitioning into changing professions.
Now I help collectors around the world collect the jewels of their homes! I have always had a passion for meeting new people and combining it with art. To be able to share memories with all our collectors and to help them create their own personal museums within their homes is a dream come true.
Carnival Vista
3). Who is your favorite Park West artist and why?
Like a lot of our collectors, I have tons of favorite artists. What makes a great artist for me is what inspires them, how they affected art history, what they did to pay it forward, and their own personal story. My list of favorites is all over the board from Peter Max, Picasso, Rembrandt, Britto, Lebo, Kostabi, and many more.
However, if I had to choose one artist it would be Michael Godard. Godard has this unique way of inspiring happiness through his works by always putting a smile on your face with his dream-like fantasy worlds filled with dancing strawberries, James Bond olives, and creating everyday scenarios with your favorite characters. It’s all about what he does to pay it forward and helping others in finding joy in their dark times. It’s not about Michael Godard’s ART—it’s about his HEART.
Lloyd poses with one of his favorite artists, Las Vegas icon Michael Godard.
4). What is your favorite client memory?
Wow! This was a tough question as I have met hundreds and thousands of collectors over the years. What stands out to me is the opportunity to open the door to new collectors. I had a young 12-year-old girl who came to the first auction of a cruise with her parents, and she was so engrossed with what I had to say, especially when I brought artist Autumn de Forest up on stage. During the auction, I helped to ignite a flame inside her and she would continue to come to every event that cruise. At the end of the cruise, she came to the art gallery with a rose that she had drawn during the cruise created with colored pencils that she made her parents buy during the trip. She sat at my desk and told me she created this for me and this would be the first of many to come. I made her sign it and date it and I still have it to this day.
Fast forward six years later and the same not-so-young girl now joined a cruise with her parents and, when she walked into the auction, she burst into tears when she recognized me instantly. She went on to tell me that ever since being introduced to art on that cruise six years ago, she had a burning desire to create, and she was now planning to study art in college. I am honored that I still have the very first work she ever signed as a self-taught artist!
Lloyd is well-known for playing Santa Claus on board Carnival ships during the holiday season
5). Out of all of your adventures around the world, what has been your favorite port?
I have many favorite ports. Cozumel, Mexico, British Columbia, Canada, and San Francisco, California are a few favorites. What stands out the most would undoubtedly be Alaska—I love the cold so these ports suit me perfectly. Alaska gets you in touch with the beauty of nature by sledding with husky dogs, flying in a helicopter over White Mountain peaks, or hiking through forests. The atmosphere that the locals create is breathtaking, from the old town buildings and local restaurants to the monster King Crabs. Everything about Alaska is magical and definitely my idea of retirement.
6). What does a normal day look like when you’re at home or not working on a ship?
Spending time with family is everything to me. And the odds of meeting and falling in love with someone on a ship from the same country as you are almost zero! This makes vacations with my wife very tricky, dividing our time between South Africa and Lithuania. When we are home in Lithuania, I like to think I am my own master chef, so every morning will start off with breakfast fit for a queen. We love spending our days with our two grandsons and our children. We spend a lot of time outdoors having barbeques with family and enjoying each other’s company, but mostly it’s about cooking, cooking, and more cooking. Every day, I try to create new recipes from watching cooking shows. Gordon Ramsey is my go-to guy, even with his sailor’s mouth!
Lloyd and his father cooking at a special event while visiting Mexico.
7). Tell us one thing about living and working at sea that would surprise most people.
Working on ships, you have two families—your land family and your ship family. Being away from your land family for six months is really tough but what helps is all the new people you meet onboard. In most cases, there are over 70 nationalities onboard and we get to live closely together twenty-four hours a day. The bonds you form with 1,200+ crew members are bonds that last a lifetime. The best part is, when you go traveling around the world, you never need to pay for a hotel again as you will have a friend in every country you visit. I would encourage every person to work on a ship once in your life and see how the world is meant to get along. When you are onboard, there is no fighting, no nationalities, and no language barriers. What you find is family, and you realize you are all part of something together and it’s all done with the mother tongue of ship language.
Lloyd with his wife Larisa
8). Is there anything else you’d like to share about yourself or your collectors?
Lots of collectors know me as Rosey, and I love meeting new people and introducing them to the art world. Once guests leave the ship, I love keeping in touch and seeing photos of their art on their walls at home. When you collect art with Park West, you are not just collecting memories, you are joining a family of art lovers and enthusiasts. So, keep collecting and enjoy the journey with us! I look forward to meeting you all on your up-and-coming cruises. In the words of Thomas Kinkade, “Let your light shine!”
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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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