‘We want art to be approachable.’ Bonhams auction house’s bid for accessibility

On a winter afternoon in New York, handlers wearing white gloves are moving furniture into the new Bonhams headquarters on West 57th Street. The finishing touches are being put to what will soon be the 230-year-old auction house’s US flagship in the former headquarters of piano maker Steinway & Sons. Benjamin Walker, Bonhams’ global head of modern decorative art and design, watches as the movers carefully bring a bronze Philip and Kelvin LaVerne console table and a walnut-and-black leather Phillip Lloyd Powell chair into their new home. Well, at least until they go to auction.

The old Steinway building has been a neoclassical landmark since it was completed in 1925. In 2021 a narrow skyscraper designed by Shop Architects was built on top of it. The new Bonhams HQ occupies the ground floor of the skyscraper, spanning a contemporary space with a triple-height gallery and a grand staircase designed by Gensler, as well as the historic Steinway Hall, with its neoclassical rotunda. A few blocks from its previous Madison Avenue address, the new HQ impresses with its grand architecture.

“This building will be more reflective of our respect and passion for the individual objects and collections,” says Walker, surveying the light-filled atrium and grand staircase. “It feels very Gilded Age. It will elevate us.” In the adjoining rotunda, a 1910 Steinway & Sons piano used by Elton John will be played at performances during the opening celebrations before it goes under the hammer.

Bonhams’ inaugural auction here will be of the Evan Lobel collection, which features the work of US designers such as Karl Springer and Philip and Kelvin LaVerne, plus household names that include Andy Warhol. “American designers from the 20th century haven’t been given the light that they possibly should have been,” says Walker. “The path that collectors have historically gone down is to look to France and at French designers. But in that process, they have overlooked what great talent there was here on their doorstep.”

It makes sense, then, that the opening show spotlights creatives inspired by or connected to the city. “Evan Lobel is a New Yorker,” says Walker of the prominent dealer and curator. “It’s fitting that we should shine a light on the designers who were making furniture and vases in New York’s heyday.”

The renovated building is sure to be as much of an attraction as the collections. “It will be the first time that people have seen the Steinway Hall in more than 10 years,” says Lilly Chan, the managing director of Bonhams US. Since the piano maker departed the building in 2014, it has been inaccessible to the public. The move also follows the acquisition of Bonhams by London-based Pemberton Asset Management in October 2025 and comes as the company outgrows its space on Madison Avenue.

The new headquarters will provide about 30 per cent more square footage, with this additional space allowing Bonhams “to execute the mission that we’ve always had, which is to bring evergreen, yearlong cultural programming”, says Chan. In March there will be special programming for Asia Week New York and in May for the Marquee Fine Art Auctions. The opening lands amid a broader Midtown Manhattan revival, in which luxury residences and a fresh wave of restaurants, such as Le Veau d’Or and Le Rock, are breathing new life into the neighbourhood – not to mention the recent $3.5bn (€2.98bn) redevelopment of Rockefeller Center.

With street-facing windows, the new Bonhams HQ aims to demystify the auction world. “A lot of people don’t know what an auction house does,” says Chan. “You read about it but what exactly happens behind the scenes? It has always felt like a culture behind closed doors. We sell across more than 60 categories – we wanted to have the space and ability to showcase the breadth of what we do.” Bonhams has a diverse portfolio featuring jewellery, furniture and contemporary art, and offers pieces across price points. In Chan’s view, in comparison to other auction houses, Bonhams is simply more approachable. “Our collector base is quite wide – we have top buyers and new collectors. We pay attention to all of them.”

That breadth has helped Bonhams to endure the economic and political turbulence that has affected auction houses in recent years. “We keep an eye on these things,” says Chan, adding that there’s always a market for well-priced collections if confidence is strong. In uncertain times, she adds, buyers remain active – they’re just “more discerning”. Despite trying times for the art market, Walker remains upbeat too. “The prices that have been achieved in the past season are the highest that they have ever been,” he says. According to Walker, the challenge now is championing mid-priced work. “That’s where Bonhams comes in,” he adds. His hope is that this new space will tempt collectors and art appreciators alike through the doors. “We want art to be approachable,” he says. “We want as many people as possible to come in.”