Philip Hook has over forty-five years of expertise in the art market as a dealer and auctioneer, most recently as a board member and senior director of the Impressionist & Modern Art department at Sotheby’s in London. He has appeared regularly as an expert on the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow. With a degree in the history of art from Cambridge, Hook joined Christie’s in 1973, heading their 19th Century Paintings department from 1980 to 1987. He is the author of Popular Nineteenth Century Painting; five successful novels set in the art world; The Ultimate Trophy, a history of the Impressionist market and a Financial Times Book of the Year; Breakfast at Sotheby’s, named a Book of the Year by The Sunday Times, The Spectator, Financial Times, The Guardian, and Mail on Sunday; and Rogues’ Gallery: The Rise (and Occasional Fall) of Art Dealers, the Hidden Players in the History of Art.
Books in order of publication:
Popular Nineteenth Century Painting – 1987
The Stonebreakers – 1995
The Soldier in the Wheatfield – 1998
An Innocent Eye – 2001
The Ultimate Trophy: How Impressionist Painting Conquered the World – 2009
Breakfast at Sotheby’s: An A-Z of the Art World – 2013
Island Of The Dead – 2013
Rogues’ Gallery: The Rise (and Occasional Fall) of Art Dealers, the Hidden Players in the History of Art – 2017
Art of the Extreme 1905-1914 – 2021
Modern: Genius, Madness, and One Tumultuous Decade That Changed Art Forever – 2022
Tales of the Art World: And Other Stories – 2023