NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s International, the world’s leading art business, announces new appointments to the firm’s global Impressionist & Modern Art team for 2012. The following staff advancements will strengthen the team’s reach internationally and reinforce the firm’s position as the auction house of choice among both new and established collectors worldwide.
Effective immediately, Thomas Seydoux will assume the role of Chairman, Impressionist and Modern Art, focusing on securing business for both auction and private sales at the most senior level. As International Head of the Department since 2009, Mr. Seydoux has led the team to numerous record-setting sales at Christie’s salerooms in Paris, New York and London, ensuring an overall market leadership position for the department for four of the last five years. Mr. Seydoux was educated in Italy and the United States, and holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
Giovanna Bertazzoni, previously Head of Department for Christie’s London, has been promoted to succeed Mr. Seydoux as International Specialist Head of Impressionist and Modern Art, with responsibility for leading the departmental team and its art sales activities worldwide. She will retain the additional title of Head of Impressionist and Modern Art, London, with oversight of the department’s major Evening Sale on February 7. As a 14-year veteran of the department, Ms. Bertazzoni has been instrumental in leading the department’s successes in Europe, including the June 2010 Evening auction at Christie’s London, which totaled £152.6 million - the highest total ever for an art auction in the UK. She started her career in the Impressionist department in 1998, becoming a senior specialist in June 2006 and Department Head in October 2008. Fluent in Italian, English and French, Ms. Bertazzoni holds a master’s degree in Museum Studies from the École Nationale du Patrimoine in Paris.
Jay Vincze has been appointed International Director and will assume Ms. Bertazzoni’s previous role as Head of Sale after the upcoming February sales series. For more than a decade, Mr. Vincze led the department’s Day sales, managing a market which grew threefold within a decade. More recently, he has been responsible for business-getting, marketing and promoting works of art for the Impressionist and Modern Art Evening sales, as well as managing private sales. Mr. Vincze works across Europe, with particular emphasis on sourcing business and developing top client relationships in Scandinavia, Switzerland, Germany and the United Kingdom. He joined Christie’s in 1998 after graduating with a Master’s degree in History of Art from the University of Cambridge.
In the Americas, Conor Jordan has been promoted to Deputy Chairman, Impressionist and Modern Art, focusing on sourcing new business and working directly with top clients to manage and expand their collections. As a 16-year veteran of the company, Mr. Jordan has helped to produce some of the most successful sales in the company’s recent history, including the record-setting sale of the Collection of Mrs. Sidney F. Brody in May 2010, which realized $225.9 million – the most valuable single-owner collection ever offered at Christie’s New York.
Brooke Lampley has been promoted to Senior Vice President and will succeed Mr. Jordan as Head of Department, with management responsibility for the Americas team and oversight of its sales in the region. Since joining Christie’s in 2004, Ms. Lampley has worked on every sale category within the Impressionist and Modern Art department, and oversaw the highest grossing mid-season sale in the department’s history in February 2007. Prior to joining Christie’s, she worked in the curatorial departments at The Fogg Art Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts, The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and The National Gallery of Art, both in Washington, D.C. She holds a Master of Arts degree from Yale and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard.
To further strengthen the team of senior colleagues and increase its reach worldwide, Christie’s further announces Olivier Camu, Andreas Rumbler, and Cyanne Chutkow have been promoted to roles as Deputy Chairman, Impressionist and Modern Art, and Sharon Kim and Adrien Meyer have been promoted to International Directors, Impressionist and Modern Art.
“These appointments take place as Christie’s concludes a tremendously successful year for Impressionist and Modern Art globally,” said Steven P. Murphy, Chief Executive Officer. “With decades upon decades of art market experience among them, this senior group of specialists will remain at the forefront of initiatives in the coming year in pursuit of our determination to serve our clients across multiple collecting interests. By expanding the leadership team we will be uniquely positioned to work with our clients in a more encompassing way across all of our company activities.”
