Penny Day

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 been responsible for sourcing and selling works at all levels and has been instrumental in the dramatic growth in this field across the company.

Penny has personally negotiated significant sales for artists such as L.S. Lowry, Henry Moore, Sir Winston Churchill, Lucian Freud, Paul Henry and Jack B. Yeats among others. She has handled some of the most significant single-owner Modern British Art collections to appear at auction, including the high-profile Elizabeth Creak Collection of Ivon Hitchens and the C.S. Reddihough Collection that included 26 works by Ben Nicholson. Recent career highlights include a 100% sold collection of Lynn Chadwick sculptures consigned from the artist's family, that included £838,750 for Maquette Jubilee II and £315,300 for Sir Stanley Spencer's seminal portrait of Mrs Linda Few Brown, previously unseen in public since 1959.

Penny travels internationally to view and appraise fine art, but closer to home also works with the Dublin and Edinburgh offices, UK regions and Knightsbridge. She holds a degree in History of Art and Classical Civilisation from Trinity College Dublin and a diploma from The Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers. Outside of the auction world, she has facilitated the loan of major works to important exhibitions, such as Frank Auerbach at Tate, and bequests to distinguished institutions such as the National Gallery of Ireland. With over 17 years expertise in her field, her specialist interests include the work of Barbara Hepworth, the London School and Irish art.