On Monday (Feb. 9), Bonhams unveiled new U.S. headquarters at 111 West 57th Street in its latest effort to expand its presence in the U.S. market, following several record-breaking years of global growth. In 2025, the company hit a milestone of $970 million in total sales across auctions and private transactions worldwide, driven in part by record performance in Asia (HK$810 million achieved in Hong Kong). In November, Bonhams New York’s 20th and 21st Century Art Week delivered one of the house’s most successful domestic performances to date, setting the stage for its new U.S. flagship.
“Our move to this historic address along the 57th Street cultural corridor—where retail, architecture and art are united—is a statement of our long-term commitment to the U.S. market, and an opportunity to redefine how Bonhams is experienced,” Lilly Chan told Observer, adding that the new headquarters lets Bonhams engage more visibly with New York’s cultural landscape and collectors. Designed to be welcoming and inclusive, the state-of-the-art auction rooms, enhanced galleries and redesigned client reception areas will support exhibitions, public-facing programming and, notably, cross-category engagement.
Designed by SHoP Architects, the 42,000-square-foot historic Steinway Rotunda has been seamlessly integrated with an 80-foot glass atrium, offering a transparent view into the heart of the auction house. The street-facing atrium serves as the main reception and lobby, anchored by a grand staircase that leads to a triple-height gallery and two large, world-class auction rooms—enhancing both accessibility and visibility.
According to Chan, the four-story headquarters will better accommodate Bonhams’ more than 60 sales categories. “The design of our new space allows us to activate categories in ways that weren’t previously possible, especially Modern and Contemporary art, collectibles, luxury, cars and culturally significant private collections,” she said. “With multiple gallery formats and new spatial flexibility, we can accommodate everything from large-scale objects to site-specific installations, creating opportunities for specialists to focus on exhibition-led storytelling and collaborate across departments.”
The space reflects Bonhams’ strategic alignment with a broader industry shift among auction houses toward the fast-growing luxury segment, where experiential, lifestyle-driven offerings are becoming central to audience expansion. While luxury has long been part of Bonhams’ identity, Chan noted that what distinguishes the house is its breadth and contextual approach. “Categories such as jewelry, watches, cars and design are not treated as adjacent to fine art, but as part of a broader cultural and collecting conversation.” This strategy translates particularly well across geographical markets. “No matter where the item is sold, our clients are global, and APAC and the U.S. are very important to our business as key areas of growth.”
Bonhams’ jewelry department delivered standout results in 2025, with high-value pieces and single-owner collections performing strongly across eight salerooms worldwide. Chan confirmed that in the U.S., the category has emerged as a key growth driver, combining strong connoisseur demand with broad collector appeal. Since 2019, the category has grown by 65 percent, fueled by exceptional stones, strong provenance and significant collections—areas in which Bonhams has long-standing authority. “In the U.S., jewelry is often a gateway into wider collecting,” she said. “We intend to use the new space to continue that growth trajectory. Beautiful things deserve a beautiful place to be shown.”
Founded in London in 1793 by Thomas Dodd—a former royal picture dealer to King George III—and Walter Bonham as Bonhams & Brooks, Bonhams is among the world’s oldest auction houses. Throughout the 19th Century, it established a reputation as a reliable mid- to high-tier auction house operating alongside Christie’s and Sotheby’s, distinguished by a more connoisseur-driven focus. In the early 2000s, Bonhams embraced a strategy of international expansion, opening salerooms across Europe, the U.S. and Asia. More recently, under private-equity ownership by Epiris, the house has acquired regional auction houses including Skinner, Bukowskis, Bruun Rasmussen, Cornette de Saint-Cyr and others, building a federated global network with deep local expertise. In October 2025, Bonhams was acquired by Pemberton Asset Management, marking the beginning of a new chapter for the company.
The inaugural exhibitions staged for the opening exemplify Bonhams’ cross-category approach. In the atrium, the house is presenting “Striking a Chord,” a thematically curated exhibition dedicated to the legacy of Steinway Hall. At its center is a 1910 Steinway & Sons Model B Grand Piano, which will be offered in the auction house’s forthcoming Masters of Pop sale running online April 23-May 7, 2026, with an estimate of $250,000-350,000. The piano carries particular historical resonance, having been played by Elton John during the recording of his landmark 1974 album Caribou, including the seminal single Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me. Surrounding the instrument are masterworks of Modern and Contemporary art, including an exceptionally rare-to-market La Muse endormie II by Constantin Brancusi, alongside works by John Chamberlain, Francis Bacon and Lee Krasner.
Also on view is “Modern Cuban Painters from Havana to New York: The Exhibition,” which pays tribute to the Museum of Modern Art’s landmark 1944 exhibition “Modern Cuban Painters”—a pivotal moment when Cuban modernism entered the U.S. cultural consciousness. Presented in collaboration with Fundación Mariano Rodríguez, the exhibition reunites, for the first time in more than 80 years, works shown in the original MoMA exhibition alongside paintings exhibited in influential New York galleries during the 1940s and not seen publicly in decades. Artists represented include some of the most groundbreaking names in Cuban art, such as Wilfredo Lam, Mario Carreño, Cundo Bermúdez, Mariano Rodríguez and Amelia Peláez.
Rounding out the opening presentations is a selection from renowned New York gallerist Evan Lobel’s collection, featuring a refined group of artists and designers who helped shape the city’s postwar design landscape. Highlights include iconic works by Philip and Kelvin LaVerne, Karl Springer and Stephen Rolfe Powell, and an Andy Warhol diamond dust painting from the collection of billionaire investor and philanthropist Sid Bass.
More in Auctions
