Meet the Specialist

What do you do at Bonhams?

I head the global Impressionist & Modern Art department. We hold four marquee sales a year, as well as an annual dedicated Surreal sale, and several mid-season and online sales across the London and New York salerooms. Our next two sales take place in London on 25 March: The Mind's Eye / Surrealism Sale and the Impressionist & Modern Art sale.

Where are you from? And what inspired you to go into the art world? 

I was born and raised in Edinburgh, and my father and mother both loved pictures. After discovering an old Colnaghi’s Master Drawings catalogue, I was fascinated by the whole concept of amassing a collection and knew I wanted to somehow be involved in that. The wonderful Impressionist pictures in the National Gallery of Scotland were a constant source of joy and inspiration.

What was your first job? 

My first experience of work was at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. Ostensibly I was helping maintain the upkeep of the gardens - so weeding - but I was lucky to wrangle a few days with the team at Inverleith House – a wonderful small contemporary art gallery in the gardens, that sadly no longer exists. The curators were a team of two, but extremely passionate and pushing the boundaries (they had held the first ever show of Ed Ruscha’s work in the UK). Paul Nesbitt and Graham Domke spent hours talking to me about contemporary art and the museum world, and I will be forever grateful to them for setting me on the path to what I’m doing today.

 Name one of your triumphs.

Last year we had our most successful year ever as a department, not my triumph but rather that of the global team who were able to source some truly wonderful works of art. I am very hopeful that the launch, this year, of our inaugural Mind’s Eye: Surrealist Sale on 25 March in London will be a triumphant start to the year.

What has changed in the business since you first started? 

The biggest change since I started working at an auction house in 2008 has been the impact of globalisation and technology. We consign works from all over the world and sell them to collectors in every corner of the globe. Collectors are also far more ‘omnivorous’ now – looking for objects from a range of periods and fields, mixing cultures, centuries and categories in a way that many collectors were not 15 or 20 years ago.

What is your strength as a specialist? 

I have a very good memory for ‘hands’, so I do enjoy trying to identify the artist behind an unsigned, unattributed work. It is very satisfying to correctly attribute a work that then goes on to sell well for the owner who most likely did not know what they had.

What’s exciting you about your next sale?

I am most excited an exceptional painting by the Surrealist artist, Leonora Carrington. Her work, Operation Wednesday, is a masterpiece full of mystical imagery that Carrington drew from her adopted Mexican homeland. It tells the story, through hidden motifs and symbols, of the student riots and resulting Tlatelolco massacre that took place in Mexico City in 1968 and is dedicated to a doctor who helped many of the injured students. It is an incredibly powerful and moving story, hidden behind an exquisite palimpsest of imagery.

Do you have a hidden talent? 

Some, and may they remain hidden!

Which work of art has changed your life? 

I remember very clearly going to see Botticelli’s The Virgin Adoring the Sleeping Christ Child following its unveiling at the National Gallery of Scotland in 1999. It was purchased for the nation following a determined and heroic fundraising campaign by the then Director of the Museums of Scotland, Sir Timothy Clifford. Seeing that painting totally changed me, and I often think of it when considering the impact that an artwork can have on you.

India Phillips is the Global Head of Impressionist & Modern Art at Bonhams in London. She can be reached at india.phillips@bonhams.com