About
Céline Hongyi YangArt Historian and Art Market Specialist
Old Masters to Contemporary Art
With experience in the international art world since 2010, Céline Hongyi Yang blends deep market expertise with academic rigour in her advisory practice. Based in London, she guides collectors at every level, from first acquisitions to the development of established collections, towards artworks of genuine quality and significance.
She speaks English, German, French, and Mandarin.
Career
Her career includes senior roles at Sotheby’s London, where she served as Deputy Director and Specialist for European Old Master Paintings, cultivating new markets and providing acquisition consultancy for collectors and institutions. Her expertise is complemented by earlier training at Christie’s, where she completed an MLitt in Arts of China. Today, operating independently and drawing on an extensive international network, she advises and brokers notable acquisitions for private museums, corporations, and collectors across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, as part of a fully international practice.
Her experience spans auction houses, museums, foundations, journalism, and art fairs, bringing together market insight, scholarly research, and a cross-cultural understanding of art.
Education
She holds an MPhil with Distinction in History of Art and Architecture from the University of Cambridge, dual bachelor’s degrees in English Literature and Economics from Tsinghua University, and an MA in Arts and Heritage: Policy, Management and Education from Maastricht University, where she was a Huygens Scholar.
Languages
A global citizen who has lived and worked across eight countries on three continents, Céline speaks English, German, French, and Mandarin. This linguistic and cultural agility enables her to navigate complex commercial and cultural contexts with ease.
Speaking and Press
Alongside her practice, Céline is a published author and speaker, having presented at King’s College, Cambridge, the Royal College of Art, and the Olympic Museum. Her insights on the art market and the dialogue between artistic traditions have been featured in the Financial Times, the Hong Kong Economic Journal, and Ming Pao.
Selected Publications and Projects
Book · 2023
Roger Fry, Arthur Waley and Goldsworthy Dickinson: The Cambridge Trio and the Discussion of the Modernity of Chinese Art in England
Author | Cam Rivers Publishing
ISBN 978-1-916858-05-3
Launched with a book release at King’s College, Cambridge, this scholarly work re-examines a pivotal moment in the Western recognition of the modernity of traditional Chinese art. It is held in the collections of several European institutions and libraries.
View the bookExhibition catalogue · 2024
Jolly @ 83
Writer and Interviewer | Artist: Jolly Koh
Commissioned to contribute an art-historical introduction and an in-depth interview with Jolly Koh, a seminal figure in Malaysian modern art. Koh was among the Asian artists who studied in the West in the mid-20th century and pioneered distinctive modernist languages by synthesising Western ideals with their own artistic traditions.
The print catalogue is available through the artist’s studio; the complete catalogue can be provided upon request.
Read the introduction and interview (PDF)Featured profile · 2019
Artfully Dressed: Women in the Art World
Portrait Subject | Photographer: Carla van de Puttelaar
A portrait project published as a book and online. Selected photographs have been exhibited and acquired by museums including the National Portrait Gallery, London. The project celebrates prominent and promising women shaping the international art world, including museum directors, collectors, dealers, art historians, curators, artists, and other cultural leaders.
Visit the Women in the Art World website