Tabitha Philpott-Kent is a Print Specialist at Bloomsbury Auction House. She spends her days giving the often-eccentric public valuations on their prints and preparing for sales. She has worked in auction houses ever since leaving University.
What do you do all day?
As a Specialist in Modern and Contemporary Prints I spend a lot of time dealing with the public. People bring in works they are interested in selling and I give them a valuation. Prints can be particularly tricky. With paintings it is easy to tell from a first look if it is a fake or what its value is. Prints offer require more research as it may have been made after the artist’s death or by another hand. This can be a delicate situation as it is often hard to explain to someone the different between a print and a reproduction.
What are you doing today?
Today, as yesterday I spent most of my time at the Print auctions. It’s always good to see what’s selling for ridiculous prices and the crazy people are buying them… today it was a Munch for £600,000 and yesterday a Warhol Souper dress for £32,000, both hugely inflated prices!
What’s the best thing about your job?
Being surrounded by art every day, finding new and interesting things to work on and constantly learning along with working with some of the most strange and interesting people. As Jack Kerouac said “The only people for me are the mad ones” and there are a lot of them in the art world. For example, the public are encouraged to bring in their items for valuation and although I am a print specialist you are, on occasion, asked to value other items. I was called in to speak to a gentleman who believed he had a “religious” piece and wanted to know more about it. When he brought it out it was actually a tower of crouching naked women. It was made of wood and the front was all breasts and the back a pile of bottoms! I didn’t really know what to say so stuck to “It’s rather, um, totemic”. I think I said “totemic” so often that he eventually went away.
And the worst thing?
The pay is infamously bad and having to deal with a lot of sycophantic people; luckily there are tonnes of brilliant people to balance it all out.
How did you get into it?
I Studied History of Art at University and then went to Christie’s Education, I always wanted to get into the Auction industry as opposed to publicly funded institutions as I prefer the buzz of the commercial world and the thrill of the sale.
Who’s been the biggest influence on you, career-wise?
Without a shadow of a doubt Lovejoy, his wit and charm and ability to spot a £50,000 work in a junkshop is unparalleled.
What do you think makes you good at your job?
You have to have an innate sense about art, a good eye. In short, you have to really love being around pictures all day. If you don’t – there’s not much point! Realistically could have been a second hand car salesman in a previous life.
What’s been your biggest achievement in your career so far?
Managing to neither break nor loose anything… yet! Winning the sailing regatta for Sotheby’s last year, considering we were drinking most of the time this was a massive achievement.
Any advice for anyone hoping to work in auction houses?
Be prepared to work for free or very little. Get on the internship programmes at the major houses and be patient, they’re very competitive. Alternatively, marry a Russian oligarch and consign half of his estate to the auction house of your choice.
Where would you like to go from here, career-wise?
I think ultimately running my own gallery would be great.
If you could have a complete career change and do something else, what would you go for?
I would have like to have been an artist or writer – that’s quite common in the auction world, if we can’t do it, at least we can be around it!
