Our Story

Highgate Contemporary Art curates contemporary paintings for collectors and interior spaces, connecting exceptional artists with homes and projects internationally.

Working through curated collections and evolving edits rather than traditional exhibition cycles, the gallery presents art in a way that reflects how people live with and experience art today, in homes, workplaces, and thoughtfully designed spaces.

Alongside private collectors, we work closely with interior designers and architects, offering art sourcing, commissions, and tailored guidance to place exceptional works in both private and commercial interiors.

Highgate Contemporary Art has a legacy spanning more than seventy years. Founded in the mid-1950s as The Phoenix Gallery in Surrey, the gallery moved to Highgate High Street, London in 1987, later becoming Highgate Fine Art before evolving into Highgate Contemporary Art in 2001.

In 2015 the gallery entered a new chapter under the direction of artist Hannah Ivory Baker, who brought a renewed focus on contemporary painting while maintaining the gallery’s longstanding reputation for quality and integrity.

Following the sale of the Highgate High Street premises in 2020, the gallery transitioned to a predominantly online model, allowing greater flexibility and international reach while continuing to host private viewings and events from Hannah’s North London studio overlooking Alexandra Palace.

Throughout its history, the gallery has exhibited influential artists including John Bratby, Jacob Epstein, Maggi Hambling and David Hockney, alongside leading and emerging contemporary painters working today.

Today the gallery programme centres on carefully curated collections and regularly refreshed edits, allowing artworks to remain discoverable beyond the short lifespan of traditional exhibitions.

We focus on artists whose practices balance strong contemporary painting with a sensitivity to atmosphere, materiality and place, works that live beautifully in interior spaces while maintaining depth and integrity for serious collectors.

Our aim is simple: to place exceptional contemporary art into spaces where it will be lived with, collected and valued for years to come.

The gallery is directed by artist Hannah Ivory Baker, whose own contemporary painting practice informs the gallery’s curatorial direction and close relationships with artists and collectors alike.