The Art World Works From Home: Sotheby’s Auctioneer Helena Newman Is Playing in a String Quartet and Planning a Picasso Sale

On a regular day, Helena Newman is a busy woman. Not only is she
the chairman of Sotheby’s Europe, she is also the worldwide head
of Impressionist and Modern Art, where she sources paintings
for the auction house and has a keen eye for works by Picasso,
Monet, and Kandinsky. In 2018, she made headlines for helming
the historic sale of a $157.2 million painting by Modigliani.

In lockdown since mid-March, she has doubled down, helping
to transport Sotheby’s auctions into the virtual world, a feat
that has so far proved successful by setting several online
records in the past months.

And on top of that, she’s been playing chamber music on her
sidewalk with her two children and her husband, acclaimed violinist
Rafael Todes. (All members of the family play a string instrument.)
The little ritual worked—until the police intervened and sent the rogue quartet back
into their home.

We spoke to Newman about selling Picassos over the internet and
how to make a mean banana bread.

Where is your new
“office”?

Since the lockdown, my new office has
been in the ground floor of our West London home looking straight
out onto our garden. We’ve had glorious weather here in London and
I can open the French doors and hear the birdsong and enjoy fresh
air. I’ve reorganized my art books to have what I need at hand next
to me.

What are you working on right now (and were any projects
of yours interrupted by the lockdown)?

We haven’t really stopped for working
since the lockdown. Initially we converted many of the sales that
would have been live into online only sales and then we started
adding in new sales. Since March 1, we have held 66 online
sales with a combined total just shy of $118 million. One of our
new projects is an online sale devoted to Picasso, which we
announced this week. “The World of Picasso” includes drawings,
watercolors, ceramics, and prints by the artist and even some of
his original palettes from his studio, which come directly from the
collection of Marina Picasso.

My main project, though, is working
with my team to get together the major evening summer sales of
Impressionist and Modern Art, which will take place in late June in
New York and July in London.

How has your work changed now
that you are doing it from home?

Like many of us, I spend a lot of time
on video calls with my team, pricing works of art and strategizing
about the business. Before the lockdown I was traveling abroad a
few times a week to see clients and negotiate deals and to view
pictures first hand. We are now relying heavily on technology
instead these in-person meetings.

What are you reading, both
online and off?

The news.

Have you visited any good
virtual exhibitions recently?

I have heard that the Raphael show at the Quirinale is
amazing. Meanwhile, we are deep in the planning of our own
virtual exhibition for the New York and July London auctions this
June.

Have you taken up any new
hobbies?

Music has been a lifelong passion of
mine since childhood and at home we are a family string quartet
with my husband Rafael Todes, who is a professional violinist, and
our 18-year-old son Max on the cello, our 17-year-old daughter
Bella on the violin, and me on viola. We set ourselves the project
of playing all 15 Beethoven string quartets during the lockdown
and, on the invitation of a neighbor, played a series of concerts
in our driveway for our street. It has been a wonderful experience
although sadly eventually shut down by the police!

We were also invited to give a fundraising concert for St John’s Hospice London on
Victory in Europe Day on May 8.

What is the first place you
want to travel to once this is over?

Tuscany, Italy, for the unbeatable
art, food, and culture; and Cornwall for the rugged clifftop
landscape and bracing sea.

If you are feeling stuck while
self-isolating, what’s your best method for getting
unstuck?

Walking. The London parks have never
looked more glorious than this spring and I love nothing more than
walking our dog Georgie early in the morning when it is quiet.

What was the last TV show,
movie, or YouTube video you watched?

My husband and I are currently
watching “Normal People.”

If you could have one famous
work of art with you, what would it be?

That’s a really hard question.
Something great by Picasso from the 1930s. But then again, maybe I
would rather go with Kandinsky’s Composition VII,
Tretyakov State Gallery, Moscow.

Favourite recipe to cook at
home?

I haven’t done much baking, but our
daughter Bella made a delicious banana cake.

• olive oil
• 250 g self-raising flour plus
  extra for dusting
• 3 ripe bananas
• 2 tablespoons fresh apple
  juice
• 125 g unsalted butter (at room
  temperature)
• 2 large free-range eggs
• ½ teaspoon ground
  cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons runny
  honey
• Optional: 50 g pecans

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Peel
and add the bananas to a mixing bowl. Using a fork, mash the
bananas so you’ve got a mixture of smooth and chunky, then put
aside. Add the apple juice and stir to combine. In a separate bowl,
beat the butter until creamy and add the eggs. Fold in the
flour, cinnamon, honey, and banana mixture. Roughly chop the pecans
on a chopping board, if using, then fold through the mixture. Bake
in the hot oven for around 40 minutes, or until golden and cooked
through. Allow the loaf to cool slightly and transfer on a plate,
cut into slices and serve. This works best with super-ripe bananas,
so use up any that you’ve got at home.

The post The Art World Works From Home: Sotheby’s Auctioneer
Helena Newman Is Playing in a String Quartet and Planning a Picasso
Sale appeared first on artnet News.