Off the Wall: Basquiat to Banksy

Victoria Gramm is a Specialist in the Post-War and Contemporary department in London. Initially based in Amsterdam, working on the auctions as a Junior Specialist, Victoria developed a strong focus on continental European Post-War art, including Kinetic and Op Art, and Minimal and Conceptual Art. Having joined the Day Auction team in London in 2018, Victoria was appointed Head of Sale for First Open, an online auction platform which showcases works by younger contemporary artists. Victoria holds a first-class honours degree in History of Art from the University of Cambridge. Raised between Israel and the UK, Victoria is fluent in English and Russian, and regularly works with Russian clients.

Claudia Schürch is a Specialist in the Post-War & Contemporary Private Sales team. She graduated from a Master’s Degree in History of Art and Visual Culture from the University of Oxford in 2009. Prior to joining Christie’s in 2015 she worked in Wealth Management at Credit Suisse in London and Zurich.

James Baskerville joined Christie’s in 2014 and is a Specialist with a depth of knowledge spanning from Old Master Prints to Contemporary printmaking. As a valuer and business getter for the London auctions, James travels mainly in the UK, Belgium, Germany and Scandinavia and is heavily involved in the Old Master Prints auction held annually between London and New York.

Some of James’s favourite past consignments include the pair of Andy Warhol’s Moonwalk which set a record price for the subject at auction (sold for ￡341,000, March 2019) and works from the collection of Dr. Heinrich Becker including a rare impression of Edvard Munch’s The Girls on the Bridge (sold for ￡125,000, September 2017); as well as rare editions sold by Private Sale.

As Head of Sale for Banksy editions at Christie’s, James has a keen interest in contemporary printmaking and has set the record price for a Banksy print with Girl with Balloon - Colour AP (Gold) (sold for ￡395,250, September 2019) and for STIK, with the deluxe set of Liberty (sold for ￡200,000, September 2019). James also consigned and curated the online auction Feelings in Colour, a celebration of Howard Hodgkin’s graphic works which set a record price for an editioned print by the artist with the monumental As Time Goes By (Red) (sold for ￡68,750, April 2019).

He read Art History at University College London, where he gained a Masters degree with distinction in History of Art in 2013 with a thesis on Albrecht Dürer’s engraving Adam and Eve.