Patrick van der Vorst Author

Patrick van der Vorst (Author) Patrick van der Vorst was born and raised in Bruges, Belgium and graduated in 1995 at the University of Leuven. At the age of 24 he relocated to London to pursue a career in the art world. From 1995 to 2011 he worked as an auctioneer for Sotheby’s, London, becoming Director for Sotheby’s, Europe, in 2007. At Sotheby’s he played a key role in organising sales for esteemed clients such as Elton John, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Viscount Astor, and numerous other private clients across London, New York, Geneva, and Paris. After 16 years at Sotheby’s he left to establish his own online art appraisal venture, founding www.valuemystuff.com in 2011. ValueMyStuff gained recognition after being featured on BBC’s Dragon’s Den (known as Shark Tank in the USA). With investments from Theo Paphitis and Deborah Meaden, the company soared to success, becoming the leading online art appraisal service globally. Over time, ValueMyStuff amassed a customer base of more than 500,000. After a successful seven years, the company was sold in 2018. From 2012 to 2018, van der Vorst served as a judge and presenter on Belgian national television for the popular series "Stukken van Mensen." During its original run, the show consistently ranked among the top-rated weekly programmes, and it continues to attract viewers. As a result, he is widely recognised as a prominent public figure in Belgium. Since childhood, he harboured a deep desire to serve as a Catholic priest and in June 2023 he was ordained by Cardinal Vincent Nichols at Westminster Cathedral. He now serves as the Precentor of Westminster Cathedral, London. In 2019 he founded www.christian.art, whose regular visitors now number almost 100,000. Philip Law (In-House Editor) Philip Law is Publishing Director for SPCK and Lion Books. His previous books include The One Hour Bible (SPCK, 2018), A Time to Pray: 365 classic prayers to help you through the year (Lion, 2002) and The SPCK Book of Christian Prayer (SPCK/Crossroad, 1995/ 2009). He is also a contributor to the 6th edition of The Lion Handbook to the Bible (Lion, 2025).