LEADING SPECIALISTS IN MODERN BRITISH ART AND PHOTOGRAPHY
Since the 1990s James Hyman has built a reputation as a leading expert on modern British art and photography. James Hyman Gallery combines this scholarship with a personal, accessible and discrete service tailored to the individual requirements of each collector. James received his doctorate on Twentieth Century British Art from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London and the gallery builds on this specialist expertise to focus on British Art since 1945 with a particular focus on figurative painting, especially by the “School of London”. The gallery also has an international reputation for its important vintage photographs from the 19th and 20th century.
James Hyman (PhD) is a leading expert in Twentieth Century British Art. A respected art historian, James Hyman received his doctorate from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London and is an authority on the painters of the School of London. His book, The Battle for Realism. Figurative Art in Britain During the Cold War (1945-60) was the result of ten years of doctoral research aided by the key artists and was published by Yale University Press/Paul Mellon Centre for Studies on British Art in 2001. The book was nominated for the W.B Berger Prize for studies in British Art History, and is one of the definitive books on Twentieth Century British Art.
James Hyman Gallery was established in 1999. It builds from this specialist expertise to focus on British Art since 1945 with a particular focus on painting and on figurative art. The gallery is also the pre-eminent place in London to acquire British and International photographs from the 19th and 20th century.
James Hyman Gallery is based in London and was situated in Mayfair and St James’s for twenty years. In 2018 it was decided to work privately and to focuses on private and museum clients, and on participation in international art fairs. The gallery offers a discreet service based in north London, near Kenwood House, between Hampstead and Highgate.
As a scholar, James Hyman has written extensively about British and International art, especially figurative painting. This includes essays on Frank Auerbach, Francis Bacon, Tony Bevan, Henri Cartier Bresson, Lucian Freud, Derrick Greaves, Philip Guston, Anselm Kiefer, Leon Kossoff, Henry Moore and Bridget Riley. He also teaches and lectures and wrote and presented a six part series for BBC World Service on Jewish Artists. He has curated major international museum shows including British Figurative Art of the Twentieth Century (Israel Museum Jerusalem/British Council), Picasso. Artist of the Century (Kunsthal, Rotterdam), Modern Nature (Hepworth Wakefield), A Picture of Health (Arnolfini, Bristol) and Jo Spence. From Fairytales to Photo Therapy (Arnolfini, Bristol).
James is committed to supporting photography in Britain, especially by women. The Hyman Collection (www.britishphotography.org) – the private collection of Claire and James Hyman - is one of the major collections in the world of British photography and holds an equal number of works by male and female artists. In 2018 The Hyman Collection donated 125 photographs to the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, USA. In 2019 The Hyman Collection donated 100 photographs to the Bodleian Library in Oxford, UK. In 2020 Claire and James Hyman founded a new charity, The Hyman Foundation, to support photography in the UK.
James has served on the boards of the British Art Fair, Aica (The International Association of Art Critics) and Aipad (The International Association for Photography Dealers) and is a trustee of the Kaszna-Krausz Foundation and the Hyman Foundation.
He is a member of the Society of London Art Dealers (SLAD), The Association for Art History and the International Association of Art Critics.
James has also acted as an expert advisor for the UK Government, providing specialist appraisals for their Acceptance in Lieu of Tax scheme.
Museums and major public collections that have acquired works from James Hyman include:
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, England
Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, Bristol, England
British Museum, London, England
CNAP, Paris, France
Cumming Museum, London, England
Getty Museum, Los Angeles, USA
Henry Moore Foundation, England
John Creasy Museum, Wiltshire, England
Musee d'Orsay, Paris, France
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, USA
National Gallery of Art, Washington, USA
National Media Museum, Bradford, England
National Museums of Wales, Cardiff, Wales
National Portrait Gallery, London, England
Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas, USA
New York Public Library, New York, USA
Norton Simon Museum, Houston, Texas
Pallant House, Chichester, England
Sir Colin St John Wilson Collection, England
Tate, London, England
Wilson Centre for Photography, London, England
We also regularly loan works to major exhibitions at the world's leading museums. Public institutions to whom we have loaned works include:
Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Cumbria, England
Art Gallery at Ontario, Toronto, Canada
Ashiya City Museum of Art, Japan
Asahikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan
Aomori Museum of Art, Japan
Barbican Art Gallery, London, England
Bibliotheque Nationale de Paris, Paris, France
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham, England
Ben Uri Art Gallery, London, England
Centre Pompidou, Paris, France
Courtauld Institute, London, England
Dean Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
Espace Lyonnais d'Art Contemporain, Lyon, France
Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
Gallery of Contemporary Art, Krakow, Poland
Gemeentesmuseum, den Haag,
Goulandris Foundation, Athens, Greece
Hiroshima Museum of Contemporary Art, Hiroshima, Japan
Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, England
Institut fur Moderne Kunst Nürnberg, Nürnberg, Germany
Irish Museum of Modern Art, Paris, France
Ivam, Valencia, Spain
John Hansard Gallery, Southampton, England
Kunsthal, Rotterdam, Holland
Kunsthalle, Bielefeld, Germany
Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Germany
Leeds City Art Gallery, Leeds, England
Manchester City Art Gallery, Manchester, England
Museum of Modern Art, Bilbao, Spain
National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
National Portrait Gallery, London, England
Norwich Castle Museum, Norwich, England
Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, England
Royal Academy of Arts, London, England
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, Scotland
Sidney Cooper Gallery, Canterbury, England
Somerset House, London, England
Southampton City Art Gallery, Southampton, England
Studio School, New York, USA
Tate Gallery, London, England
Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Iran
Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts, Japan
Ulster Museum, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Whitney Museum of Art, New York, USA
Yokohama Museum of Art, Yokohama, Japan