Helena Newman, 45, is the Chairman of Sotheby’s Impressionist and Modern Art Department, Europe, which recently worked on the sale of Munch’s The Scream for £74m.
She lives in west London with her husband, Rafael, a violinist, and their children, Max, 10, and Isabella, 9.
How male dominated is the art collector’s world?
There are certainly more male auctioneers, but I have my own auctioneering style, which works for me. I came to Sotheby’s as a young woman straight after university, and I found that if you show sheer determination people take you seriously.
What’s the secret to making people bid millions of pounds?
A good auctioneer can lift the mood in the room, and change the outcome of the sale. It’s mostly timing. I mustn’t bring the hammer down too soon, or so slowly that people get bored. If I time it right, I can get one last bid, which might mean hundreds of thousands of pounds. I played the violin seriously for years, and that training has really helped me at Sotheby’s. Music and auctioneering are both a kind of performance, they’re both about pace, rhythm and tone.
Did you grow up in an arty home?
I grew up in London, so I’ve always enjoyed exhibitions, and there were lots of art books and pictures at home. But my father worked in publishing and my mother was a concert pianist, so I had more of a music background. I studied French and German at Oxford, not art history, but that actually helped, because few people here spoke German then. I was sent to Europe to advise collectors early in my career — they were often surprised to meet a 22-year-old.
Advertisement
How does your day job work?
I lead Sotheby’s European team, securing important works to sell and organising the auctions. We all travel a lot, meeting international collectors and working out what kind of art is in demand. The auctions are like the barometer of the international art market, so they’re pretty tense.
How’s your work/life balance?
I’m lucky that my husband is freelance, and that my children’s schools are fairly nearby. I can nip out to a school play in the afternoon from work and nobody will notice. Most of my European travel I do as day trips, and if I don’t have an event after work I get home by 6.30pm, to spend time with the children before bed.
How stressful is your life?
There’s a fine line between adrenaline and stress at work. It’s an all-consuming job, but I enjoy the buzz of working somewhere as high profile as Sotheby’s. My mornings can be a bit hectic, as we’re trying to get the children to do music practice before school, so my cycle to work is when I decompress. It’s also my only exercise.
What do you wear to work?
I like dresses that I can wear in the day and into the evening, so I wear lots of Alberta Ferretti, Nicole Farhi and Diane von Furstenberg, and big pieces of statement jewellery by Marni. The art world is one of the few workplaces where you can really enjoy clothes, because appreciating the aesthetic is part of the whole ethos.
What sort of person spends millions on modern art?
You can’t generalise, because it’s a global market, but all serious collectors are incredibly driven. You have to go the extra mile if you want to acquire a masterpiece. It’s also rare that collectors are only interested in monetary value. Their emotional response to the art is fascinating for me, because I get to know them through their collections.
Advertisement
What advice do you have on taking children to exhibitions?
Don’t make it long — it’s better to look closely at a couple of pictures than trying to see them all. I try to check out an exhibition alone first, then, when I take the children, we go straight to a few pictures I want them to see. Preparation is also key. If you can tell children a bit about the art or the painter ahead of time, it puts it in context.
What sort of social life do you and your husband have?
We’re both violinists, so we like to hold house concerts. We invite friends round, play a little recital for them and then have dinner together — Rafael is an excellent cook. I find that’s a good way to keep in touch with friends, and it’s relaxing because it’s so different to my day job. My son plays the cello and my daughter plays the violin, so sometimes we’re a family quartet.
Sotheby’s next impressionist and modern presale exhibition opens on June 14; sothebys.com