Sporting Art

John Stainton

International Director, Sporting Art
Director, Old Master & British Pictures
London, King Street

John Stainton has overseen a number of landmark sales in British Art, including George Stubbs’s Portrait of the Royal Tiger, which realized £3.2 million (1995); and Sir Joshua Reynolds’s The Archers, which fetched £1.65 million (2000), both world auction records. John also handled the private sale of Thomas Gainsborough’s Byam Family, the most important work by the artist to come to the market in recent years (1999). The British Pictures Department has also set auction records for works by Sir Peter Lely; John Wootton; Samuel Scott; Richard Wilson; Thomas Roberts; and Sir David Wilkie.

In addition to British Pictures, John also oversees Christie’s increasingly popular Sporting Art sales in London and has helped make Christie’s the leading auctioneer in this category. Under John’s watch Christie’s has established several world auction records both in London and New York, such as the $4.3 million achieved for Sir Alfred Munnings’ Lord and Lady Mildmay of Flete with their children (1999). John Stainton is a graduate of Christie’s Education in London.

Brandon Lindberg

Head of Sale
London, King Street

Brandon Lindberg's career at Christie's began in 1993 and he has been a member of the British & Irish Art department for over twelve years. In addition to his focus on Victorian and Traditionalist pictures he is head of sale for Sporting Art. Brandon has also been involved in notable single owner sales such as Mere Hall, Woburn Abbey and Gyrn Castle.

Clare McKeon

Vice President, Sporting Art
New York

Clare McKeon started her career at Christie’s London as a specialist in the Victorian Picture Department. As head of the Sporting Art sale at Christie’s New York and the US specialist for British & Irish Art in London, Ms. McKeon was responsible for the consignment of Munnings' Portrait of Ruth Brady on Bugle Call, which sold for £1,486,400 against an estimate of £1,200,000 (2005).

Clare also was involved with several successful high-profile single-owner sales in New York featuring sporting art including The John W. Kluge Morven Collection (2005); Property from a Sutton Square Residence (2005); and The Doris Duke Collection (2004). Among Ms. McKeon's earlier successes is the auction of St. Cecilia by John William Waterhouse, which sold for $10 million and set a world auction record for any Victorian Picture (2000).

Clare is a graduate of Oxford University and the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.

Tom Rooth
Head of Sale
London, South Kensington

Tom Rooth joined Christie’s British & Irish Art department in 2004. Having come from another major London auction house and with over 9 years experience in the art world, Tom has been instrumental in the successful growth of sales revenue in the category since joining Christie’s. Most recently he was involved in securing a world record price of £1.77 million ($3.5 million) for Albert Joseph Moore’s Jasmine. Specialising in 19th and early 20th Century British painting, Tom’s interests range from British Impressionism (particularly Newlyn School painting) to the Pre-Raphaelites and the Aesthetic Movement.

Tom has a degree in Art History from Winchester School of Art and a degree in General Valuations from Southampton Institute.