Eleanor Hartley is a contemporary art consultant and former senior curator at Tate Modern, specialising in digital art, NFTs, and the evolving gallery landscape. She holds an MA in Art History from the Courtauld Institute and a certificate in Digital Curation from the Victoria and Albert Museum. With 18 years of institutional experience, she now advises collectors and emerging artists on navigating the contemporary art market.
Eleanor Hartley has shaped the trajectory of contemporary art discourse in the United Kingdom for nearly two decades. After completing her undergraduate degree in Fine Art at Goldsmiths, University of London, she pursued an MA in Art History at the prestigious Courtauld Institute of Art, where she developed her specialism in post-war and contemporary movements. Her curatorial career began at the Serpentine Galleries before she joined Tate Modern, where she led exhibitions exploring the convergence of screen-based art, projection mapping, and traditional canvas work. Eleanor has witnessed firsthand the transformation of gallery spaces, from wall-hung paintings to immersive VR environments, and understands the commercial and conceptual tensions artists face when deciding between solo gallery shows and NFT drops. She has served on acquisition committees for major UK collections and advised Phillips and Christie's on post-internet art valuations. Her writing bridges the gap between institutional knowledge and practical guidance for working artists seeking gallery representation or direct sales strategies. Eleanor is passionate about demystifying the art market for emerging practitioners while addressing the realities of VAT registration, commission structures, and building sustainable income streams without traditional gallery dependency. She currently runs an independent consultancy advising both collectors seeking to build meaningful collections and artists transitioning between traditional and digital practices.