NEW YORK, NY.- Kelly Sidley joined Bonhams as Head of the Photographs department based in New York in November 2022. In her role at Bonhams, Kelly will look to build a diverse schedule of both live and online auctions in 2023 with particular emphasis on enlarging its offering of contemporary photography. She will advise institutions, private collectors, and estates to execute their goals from thoughtfully growing their photography collections to strategically streamlining their holdings.

Previously, Kelly was at Sotheby’s New York, where she was Specialist and Head of Sale for its Photographs department. In that role, Kelly executed the department’s New York-based auctions while also completing a robust volume of insurance, fair market value, and estate appraisals each year. From 2006 to 2019, she held curatorial and educational positions at The Museum of Modern Art, where she assisted with numerous exhibitions, including Out of Time: Contemporary Art from the Collection (2006 - 2007); Comic Abstraction: Image-Breaking, Image-Making (2007); Aernout Mik (2009), Inbox: Hans-Peter Feldmann (2017); and Louise Lawler: WHY PICTURES NOW (2017). Kelly has written and lectured broadly on modern and contemporary art and served on photography juries and review panels. Her diverse network spans the museum, gallery, academic, and auction worlds.

Kelly received an M.A. and a Ph.D. in the history of modern and contemporary art from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, where she wrote her dissertation on Andy Warhol’s 1960s self-portraiture. She earned a B.A. in art history and English literature from Dartmouth College. She is a USPAP-certified appraiser; an Associate Member of the Appraisers Association of America; and a member of ArtTable.