Appraising and selling paintings and sculpture is at the heart of every successful auction house. Such a task, however, poses significant challenges, covering hundreds of years of artistic endeavour, in many styles and mediums. Sworders’ ability to identify and value works from a wide range of schools and periods, combined with careful presentation and marketing, has led to us achieving consistently strong results and some truly exceptional prices.
Sworders' Paintings & Sculpture department has grown over the last five years, processing over 4,000 lots a year, and now boasts a full and varied selection of sales including specialist art auctions of Modern & Contemporary Art, Old Master, British & European Art as well as our new auction, Tastemakers: Modern and Contemporary Art & Design, launching this November. Further information on each of these sales can be found by following the links below.
Our specialists hold regular valuation days. Please contact us for more information, or complete the online form to enquire about the valuation of your items.
Bryn Sayles
Modern & Contemporary Art | Senior Valuer, Business Development
T: 01279 817778
E: brynsayles@sworder.co.uk
Want to know how much your Paintings & Sculpture may be worth? Fill out our easy to use form and a member of the team will be in touch with free advice shortly.
Here, close friend, art historian and former Senior Curator of Modern British Art at Tate, Andrew Wilson, offers an insight into James Birch’s remarkable collection and the extraordinary life behind it. Having known James since the late 1980s, Andrew has witnessed first-hand his restless curiosity, his friendships with artists and his instinct for the unusual.
15 September 2026
Art dealer, curator, gallerist and author James Birch has spent more than four decades championing artists and staging groundbreaking exhibitions. This October, approximately 300 works from his private collection come to auction at Sworders, tracing a remarkable career from the King’s Road to Moscow and beyond.
Day One of our autumn Modern & Contemporary Art auction will be celebrate The James Birch Collection, offering bidders an exciting opportunity to purchase works from Birch's private collection.
27 August 2026
