LONDON.- South East Specialist in search of more top quality pictures like the Breughel, Velazquez, Gainsborough that have emerged from the region in the past year
Bonhams, the international fine art auction house, has appointed Robert Smith as a Picture Specialist for the South East region to be based in Guildford.
He joins the company from MacConnal-Mason Gallery in St James's where he was based for the last three years. He has also worked for the Redfern Gallery in London. Previously he was with an international fine art auction house for five years working as a specialist in Modern British Art, managing a small team with responsibility for two major sales a year.
His experience includes curating exhibitions for a variety of high profile gallery spaces both in the UK and overseas and has managed the sale of valuable works of art resulting in record-breaking prices.
Robert has a BA (Hons) Fin e Art degree from the University of East London.
His particular interests include the Bloomsbury Group painters Duncan Grant, Vanessa Bell and Roger Fry, as well as artists associated with the Seven and Five Society whose leading figures include names like Ben Nicholson, John Piper and Ivon Hitchins.
Matthew Girling, Bonhams CEO, says: We are delighted to welcome Robert to this new brief in one of the most important areas of the country in terms of sourcing art and antiques for sale in London and Oxford. We believe that Roberts expertise and specialist picture knowledge will be an invaluable asset to Bonhams across the South East.
Robert Smith adds: It is an exciting time to be joining Bonhams with the company undergoing huge growth internationally and rebuilding its London HQ into what promises to be the best selling space in the auction world.
The company operates in 27 countries on five continents providing sales venues in London, Edinburgh, Oxford, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Sydney. Material sourced in Surrey, Kent and Sussex is sent to the market where it is likely to realise the best result.