Hilary Kay | |
|---|---|
 Kay receiving her certificate of Australian citizenship from Tony Abbott, January 2015 | |
| Born | 16 December 1956 |
| Nationality | British, Australian |
| Occupation(s) | Antiques expert, television presenter, author, lecturer |
| Television | Antiques Roadshow |
Hilary Marion Kay (born 16 December 1956) [1] is a British antiques expert, author and lecturer, probably best known for her many appearances on the BBC programme Antiques Roadshow on which she is a member of the team of experts.
Kay's first job was working for fine art and antique dealers Spink & Son in St. James's. [2] In 1977, Kay accepted an offer to join Sotheby's Collectors’ Department. Later that year Kay became head of that department and, aged 21, became the company's youngest ever[ citation needed ] auctioneer. A rock and roll fan, in 1981 Kay held the world's first[ citation needed ] rock and roll memorabilia auction, handled the sale of Elton John's collection in 1988 and in 1992 wrote Rock ’n’ Roll Collectables: An Illustrated History of Rock Memorabilia, the first[ citation needed ] textbook on the subject.
As well as working on television as an expert on Antiques Roadshow from 1979 onwards, [2] [3] Kay presented a landmark series for BBC One, Brilliantly British, which explored the lives of Thomas Chippendale, Josiah Wedgwood and William Morris. Kay has written or contributed to a number of books on the subject of antiques and collectables and has appeared in numerous television and radio programmes.
Kay is a fan of mechanical antiques, having been born into a family of Engineers. She is also a car enthusiast; one of her early influences was the James Bond film Goldfinger, where she loved the Aston Martin DB5. In 2009, for a special episode of BBC TV's Priceless Antiques Roadshow, Kay was behind the wheel of the Aston Martin DB5 driven by Daniel Craig in Casino Royale .
Kay, by then a Senior Director, left Sotheby's in 1999. She now runs Art & Antique Events, a corporate entertainment company which provides antiques-based events and entertainments to corporate and private clients. [4] She created and produces a stage show with fellow Antiques Roadshow expert Paul Atterbury called 'Have You Had it Long Madam?' (Tales from the Roadshow), [5] which has toured the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
On 27 December 2010 Kay won an edition of BBC One's Celebrity Mastermind , with a score of 36 points, [6] having chosen 'The Life and Works of Josiah Wedgwood' as her specialist subject. [7]
Currently Kay presents and curates the online art appreciation course, The Art Institute, [8] operating in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada and Ireland.
Kay has joint British and Australian citizenship. [9]
Josiah Wedgwood was an English potter, entrepreneur and abolitionist. Founding the Wedgwood company in 1759, he developed improved pottery bodies by systematic experimentation, and was the leader in the industrialisation of the manufacture of European pottery.
Antiques Roadshow is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom to appraise antiques brought in by local people. It has been running since 1979, based on a 1977 documentary programme.
The Aston Martin DB5 is a British grand tourer (GT) produced by Aston Martin and designed by Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera. Originally produced from 1963 to 1965, the DB5 was an evolution of the final series of DB4. The "DB" designation is from the initials of David Brown who built up the company from 1947 onwards.
Wedgwood is an English fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd. It was rapidly successful and was soon one of the largest manufacturers of Staffordshire pottery, "a firm that has done more to spread the knowledge and enhance the reputation of British ceramic art than any other manufacturer", exporting across Europe as far as Russia, and to the Americas. It was especially successful at producing fine earthenware and stoneware that were accepted as equivalent in quality to porcelain, though considerably less expensive.
Timothy Wonnacott is an English chartered auctioneer, chartered surveyor, antiques expert, narrator, and a television presenter. He was previously a director of Sotheby's, one of the world's oldest auction houses.
Eric Knowles FRSA is a British antiquarian and television personality, whose main interests are in ceramics and glass.
Rudy Franchi was an American writer and editor on film theory and film criticism and an antiques and collectibles expert. He helped to introduce the French critical protocol the "auteur theory" to the United States. For several decades, Franchi also operated galleries that specialized in pop culture collectibles. In 1995, he began appearing as an appraiser on the PBS series, Antiques Roadshow, specializing in pop culture memorabilia.
Leigh Ronald Keno and Leslie Bernard Keno are American antiquarians, authors, historic car judges, preservationists and television hosts. They specialize in stoneware, early American furniture and vintage automobiles. They are widely known as appraisers on the PBS series Antiques Roadshow, for favoring preservation of antiques over restoration and for their high-energy personalities.
David Battie FRSA is a British retired expert on ceramics, specialising in Japanese and Chinese artefacts.
Lars Broholm Tharp is a Danish-born British historian, lecturer and broadcaster, and one of the longest running 'experts' on the BBC antiques programme, Antiques Roadshow, first appearing in 1986.
Alastair Dickenson is a silver expert. He has made regular appearances on the BBC programme Antiques Roadshow since 1992. Educated at Epsom College, he began his career in the silver trade by joining one of London's major auction houses, Phillips Fine Art Auctioneers, in 1971. By 1983 he had been appointed Head of Antique Silver at Asprey, moving up to becoming a Director of the Antiques Department in 1994. In 1996 he started up his own business in Jermyn Street.
Paul Rowley Atterbury, FRSA is a British antiques expert, known for his many appearances since 1979 on the BBC TV programme Antiques Roadshow. He specialises in the art, architecture, design and decorative arts of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Jon Baddeley is a fine art auctioneer, an authority on scientific instruments and collectables, a broadcaster and an author.
Antiques Roadshow is an American television program broadcast on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) Public television stations. The program features local antiques owners who bring in items to be appraised by experts. Provenance, history, and value of the items are discussed. Based on the original British Antiques Roadshow, which premiered in 1979, the American version first aired in 1997. From 1997 to 2017, its episodes were filmed indoors at facilities such as convention centers and ballrooms; late in the 2017 season, it switched to filming at historic sites and museums, with most or all appraisals taking place outdoors. Antiques Roadshow has been nominated 22 times for a Primetime Emmy.
Dendy Peter Nicholas Napper Easton is a fine art consultant for Bonhams, better known as one of the experts on the BBC programme, Antiques Roadshow. The son of Dendy Bryan Easton (1916–2001) and his wife Iris, he began his career in fine art in 1971. He spent 30 years at Sotheby's, finishing as a director who specialised in 19th and 20th-century pictures.
Antiques Roadshow is a British television series produced by the BBC since 1979. Series 28 (2005/06) comprised 25 editions that were broadcast by the BBC from 4 September 2005 – 19 March 2006.
Lady Victoria Diana Leatham MBE is an antiques expert and television personality. She was the chatelaine of Burghley House from 1982 to 2007.
Mark Hill is a British antiques expert, TV presenter, author and publisher.
Michelle Ayele Ackerley is an English television presenter and journalist, best known for her work on BBC programmes such as Watchdog, World’s Strongest Man and The One Show.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
