Penny Day
Head of UK and Ireland
Penny Day is Head of UK and Ireland for Modern British and Irish Art. She joined Bonhams in 2006 having previously worked in the British and Irish Art department of Christie's. Since then, she has bee…
Modern British & Irish Art
Bonhams Modern British & Irish Art department offer more artworks annually in this category than any other major auctioneer. We specialise in the period's major movements, spanning Edwardian Art to Camden Town, The Bloomsbury Group, British Surrealism, Neo-Romanticism, Irish Moderns, St Ives, Constructivism, Post-War and The London School. We hold five dedicated auctions a year in London, in addition to an exciting roster of themed sales such as Blazing a Trail: Modern British Women and The Irish Sale: Vision and Voice.
Our auctions feature paintings, sculptures and works on paper by artists including L.S. Lowry, Ben Nicholson, Lynn Chadwick, Elisabeth Frink, Paul Nash, Ivon Hitchens, William Roberts, William Scott, Paul Henry, J.B Yeats and Henry Moore, whose alabaster carving Mask sold at Bonhams for £3.25M in 2018.
Significant world auction records held by the department include Christopher Wood's Drying Sails, Mousehole, Cornwall, Walter Sickert's La Corsage Violet, John Craxton's Summer Triptych, and Stringed Figure, the record price for a painting by Dame Barbara Hepworth. We are market leaders for the Bloomsbury Group and, in recent years, have established the auction record for Duncan Grant with his Vanessa Bell in a Yellow Shawl and Roger Fry with his Portrait of E.M. Forster.
Buying and selling modern British and Irish art at Bonhams
Bonhams Modern British & Irish Art department has specialists and representatives in the UK, Ireland, the United States, continental Europe, Canada, Hong Kong and Australia. Our team has over 50 years' combined experience in advising private collectors, as well as corporate and public institutions, on all aspects of their collections.
Contact a specialist directly for more information or submit your item online for a free auction estimate.
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Thinking of selling? Get a free auction estimate by submitting your item online or contacting your local Bonhams. With specialists based in towns and cities worldwide, we are your local auction house.
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News and stories
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View profile of Penny Day
Christopher Dawson
Head of Department
Chris Dawson is Head of Department for Bonhams Modern British & Irish Art in London. He also supports the Scottish Art auctions in Edinburgh. Since joining Bonhams in 2007, Chris has played a major ro…
Ingram Reid
Head Of Sale
Ingram Reid is Head of Sale for the Modern British & Irish Art auctions held in Bonhams New Bond Street, London. He sources consignments for the two major department auctions held in June and November…
Catherine King
Head of Sale
Catherine King is Head of Sale for Bonhams' Modern British & Irish Art department in Knightsbridge, London. She oversees the saleroom's three Modern British and Irish Art sales a year. Her areas of pa…
Grace Berry
Associate Specialist
Grace Berry is a Cataloguer in Bonhams' Modern British and Irish Art department in London, New Bond Street, where she is responsible for research, cataloging and expertise of their biannual Modern Bri…
India Ross
Cataloguer
India Ross is a cataloguer in Bonhams' Modern British & Irish Art department in London, Knightsbridge. She focuses on their three main sales annually, as well as themed auctions including Quentin Blak…
Robert Jenkinson
Cataloguer
View profile of Robert Jenkinson
Mary Gatenby
Associate Specialist
Mary Gatenby is an Associate Specialist for the Modern British & Irish Art department at Bonhams Knightsbridge in London. Prior to joining Bonhams in 2022, Mary studied Fine Art at Oxford University, …
Rachael Swann
Senior Sale Coordinator
Rachael Swann is an Administrator for Bonhams Prints & Multiples and Modern British & Irish Art departments in London, New Bond Street.
Kieran O'Boyle
Head of Ireland & Northen Ireland
Kieran O'Boyle is Director & Head of Ireland & Northern Ireland. Based in the Dublin office, he advises clients in the buying and selling of art and collectibles throughout all of Bonhams' specialist …
Robert Smith
Regional Director, South East
Robert Smith is Bonhams' Regional Director for the Southeast. Based in Guildford, he travels throughout the counties of Surrey, Sussex, Kent and Hampshire offering valuations for auction, probate and …
Emma Sykes
Regional Manager, West of England
Emma Sykes is General Manager and Picture Specialist for Bonhams Bath, where she has been based since 2006. She previously worked at Bonhams Chester saleroom, having joined the company in 1997. Emma i…
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Upcoming auctions
Airborne: A Fundraising Sale for the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration
21 – 29 April | Online, London, Knightsbridge
Open for bidding
View 53 lots
Modern British & Irish Art
18 June | London, New Bond Street | Live auction
Coming soon
Preview 12 lotsBlazing a Trail: Modern British Women
22 September – 1 October | Online, London, New Bond Street
Open for consignment
Preview 1 lotSell with us
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