Christopher Claxton Stevens was born on 15th May 1952 and educated at Haileybury College and Christ Church, Oxford where he attained an M. A. degree in History. After spending some years in the Furniture Department of the auctioneers Christie’s, King Street, in 1981 he joined Norman Adams Ltd, the long-established specialists in the finest 18th century British furniture based in Knightsbridge, London. He was a Director from 1986 until its closure in 2009. Besides being a keen collector of antiques, he has a love of furniture of all periods, including commissioning modern pieces.

He was author of 18th Century English Furniture – The Norman Adams Collection (1983), co-author of British Furniture 1600-2000 (2005) and editor of The Frederick Parker Collection: a Selection of Chairs (2006). He writes on furniture of all types and his lecture schedule includes West Dean College, Sussex and visiting lecturer at Lublin University, Poland.

Christopher joined the City Livery Company, the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers in 1977 and became the second youngest Master in the Company’s history in 2002. His work as Chairman of the Guild Mark Committee, aiding designer-craftsmen, is commemorated by the annual Claxton Stevens Prize, founded in 1989 and awarded each year by the Lord Mayor of London at the Mansion House.

Christopher has served on the Council of the Furniture History Society and was Chairman of the Regional Furniture Society for seven years until 2001. He has been a Trustee of two museums: the Geffrye Museum in London and the Chiltern Open Air Museum of Buildings in Buckinghamshire, as well as of the Frederick Parker Foundation, set up to preserve the Parker Knoll Collection of Chairs, now at London Metropolitan University. He is a Course Adviser for the Furniture Conservation and Restoration Course at West Dean College, Sussex. He was elected a member of the Art Workers’ Guild in 2004 and a Trustee in 2008.