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

Department Head
London, King Street

Brandon Lindberg has worked at Christie's for over fifteen years. He has been a member of the British & Irish Art department since 1996 and has been Department Head for Sporting Art at Christie's South Kensington since 1999, and subsequently at Christie's King Street since 2006. Brandon is also a member of the Victorian & Traditionalist department and is an active business getter of Scottish & Irish Art. He has also been greatly involved in many important single owner collections including Mere Hall, Woburn Abbey, and Gyrn Castle.

Brandon has a degree in History and Fine Art from Lancaster University.

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.