\n READ MORE: Florence Pugh\u2019s dad sells Oxford caf\u00e9 amid \u00a3900K losses<\/a>\n<\/p>\n \n \n Now, the restaurateur has had to sell three Sacha Jafri paintings, worth more than \u00a31m in total.\n<\/p>\n \n Mr Jafri, one of the world\u2019s most expensive living artists, was an unknown Ruskin School of Art graduate in the late 1990s.\n<\/p>\n \n The artist approached Mr Pugh in 1998 and asked if he could display paintings in his restaurant.\n<\/p>\n \n Speaking to The Sunday Times<\/a> , the 67-year-old reminisced: \u201cAfter about a year, Sacha approached me and said, \u2018Look, I really need some money. Would you buy them off me if I drop the price a bit?\u2019.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cI bought the whole lot, I\u2019m guessing, for about \u00a33,000. A few years later, one of my duty managers said he [Mr Jafri] seemed to be doing quite well.\n<\/p>\n \n READ MORE: Florence Pugh calls out conflict in Gaza: ‘Silence is complicity’<\/a>\n<\/p>\n \n \n “But I didn\u2019t pay much attention. It was only when he sold that painting [in 2021] for a ridiculous amount of money that I really noticed.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n The 48-year-old Old Etonian artist has now become one of the most famous on the globe, with his stock steadily rising in recent years, with David Beckham, Madonna and Barack Obama amongst his clientele.\n<\/p>\n \n With his business losses, Mr Pugh chose to sell three of the paintings, travelling to Mr Jafri’s Dubai studio in the process.\n<\/p>\n \n \u201cThese paintings are potentially a national treasure,” he continued whilst speaking to The Sunday Times.\n<\/p>\n \n “And because of all the financial crap, I\u2019ve lost my pension, lost almost everything.\n<\/p>\n \n READ MORE: Florence Pugh parties until 4am as brother gets married in Spain<\/a>\n<\/p>\n \n \n “I went out to Dubai to see him at his studio after contacting him, saying I\u2019d bought these things.\n<\/p>\n \n “I wanted to know what they meant, what he was thinking of when he created them.”\n<\/p>\n \n The Sunday Times added that Mr Jafri’s studio also gave an estimated \u00a31m plus valuation for the three paintings for insurance purposes.\n<\/p>\n \n During his chat with the Oxford Mail last year, Mr Pugh said: “I\u2019ve lost around \u00a3900,000 and have had a huge amount of money from Florence lent to me to try and keep it going.\n<\/p>\n \n “Oxfordshire County Council has\u00a0contributed to this when they could have helped us by making sure buses got here and by stopping our business rates completely.\n<\/p>\n \n “A lot of the traffic<\/a> issues that have been in the city for the last 32 years have been caused by the county council, which has been removing single yellow lines.\n<\/p>\n \n READ MORE: Florence Pugh ‘joins cast’ of Spider-Man Brand New Day<\/a>\n<\/p>\n \n Help support trusted local news\n<\/p>\nClinton Pugh, Florence Pugh, Toby Sebastian and Rafaela Pugh (left to right).(Image: Instagram)\n<\/p>\n
Clinton Pugh with the new owners of Cafe Coco, Fernando and Filipe.(Image: Clinton Pugh)\n<\/p>\n
Clinton Pugh formerly owned several restaurants in Oxford.(Image: Clinton Pugh)\n<\/p>\n