Skip to main content

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 La Révolution Surréaliste, Blazing a Trail: Modern British Women, British. Cool. and The Irish Sale: Vision and Voice.

Significant world auction records held by the department include Henry Moore's alabaster carving Mask, which established a record price for a 1920s sculpture by any British artist, 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. We also perform consistently well for artists such as Ben Nicholson, L.S. Lowry and Lynn Chadwick to name just a few.

Buying and selling modern British and Irish art at Bonhams
Bonhams Modern British & Irish Art department has specialists and representatives in the UK, the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, Australia and Ireland. 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.

With offices and representatives in 22 countries, Bonhams gives buyers and sellers access to a global network of collectors and unparalleled marketing resources to achieve the highest price and level of client satisfaction possible. Contact a specialist directly for more information or submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

Request a valuation

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.

Submit an item

Exceptional results

News and stories

Find a specialist

Photo of Penny Day

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…

View profile of Penny Day
Photo of Christopher Dawson

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…

View profile of Christopher Dawson
Photo of Ingram Reid

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…

View profile of Ingram Reid
Photo of Janet Hardie

Janet Hardie

Senior Specialist

Janet Hardie is a Senior Specialist for Modern British & Irish Art at Bonhams New Bond Street in London. In this role she sources consignments for the two main department auctions held in June and Nov…

View profile of Janet Hardie
Photo of Grace Berry

Grace Berry

Senior Cataloguer

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…

View profile of Grace Berry
Photo of Mary Gatenby

Mary Gatenby

Cataloguer

Mary Gatenby is a Cataloguer 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, before unde…

View profile of Mary Gatenby
Photo of Kathleen Leland

Kathleen Leland

American & European Works of Art | Modern & Contemporary

Kathleen M. Leland is a Specialist for American & European Works of Art at Bonhams Skinner, specializing in Modern & Contemporary Art. Prior to joining Bonhams Skinner in 2017, Kate served in curatori…

View profile of Kathleen Leland

Upcoming auctions

Sell with us

Submit your item online for a free and confidential valuation. If it’s suitable for sale, a specialist will provide an auction estimate and advise on the next steps for selling.

Submit an item