The woman who built the African art auction market goes independent at 1-54 London
Hannah O'Leary, who co-founded Bonhams' African art auctions in 2006 and built Sotheby's African art department from 2016, has launched her own firm, HOLFA, for private sales and advice — debuting at the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in London with works by seven modernists from across the continent.
Key points
- HOLFA (Hannah O'Leary Fine Art) is a London-based firm for secondary-market private sales and collector advice on modern and contemporary African art.
- Its public debut was at 1-54 London, 15-18 October 2026, in the fair's 1-54 Presents programme.
- The presentation showed seven modernists: Skunder Bogossian, Gerard Sekoto, Sam Ntiro, Papa Ibra Tall, Uzo Egonu, Kofi Antubam and Bertina Lopes.
- O'Leary co-founded Bonhams' African art auctions in 2006 and joined Sotheby's in 2016 to found its department, setting more than 200 world auction records for African artists.
What happened
The launch is a market-structure story. Most twentieth-century African art still changes hands at auction — public, episodic, and short on advice for buyers. HOLFA's bet is that a maturing collector base wants what other art markets take for granted: a discreet private channel and an independent adviser who knows the whole continent rather than one national scene.
The timing is not accidental: the debut came in the same London fortnight in which Bonhams' African art sale set seven records (see our Enwonwu story), and O'Leary's pitch — that several of her seven modernists had never been shown at an international art fair — is an argument that the canon is still being assembled.
Claim by claim
Why this label: Announced 14 October 2026 and reported consistently across art press.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The artist list is consistent across the launch reports.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Her career record as stated in the launch coverage and her firm's biography.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: As stated in the launch reports; the figure is the firm's own summary of her tenure.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: That is HOLFA's founding argument, drawn from O'Leary's launch statements. Auction houses would answer that public sales create the prices private dealers trade on. Both can be partly true; which channel serves artists' estates and collectors better is a live market argument, not a settled fact.
On the ladder: credible sources conflict, so we show both workings. One side's own statement is that side's position — never proof.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- The firm, its model and its 1-54 presentation are documented.
- The seven artists shown are a matter of record.
What we don't know yet
- HOLFA's client list and first private sales — private dealing is, by design, not published.
- Whether other auction-house specialists will follow her out — the talent flow is the thing to watch.
Why it matters
Markets mature when they grow a second door. African art's first door was the auction room — and O'Leary built much of it. Her move says the collector base is now deep enough to sustain private dealing and independent advice, which changes how prices are discovered and whose art gets championed between sales.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Story published.