Sotheby's Expands Impressionist & Modern Art Team In The Americas

Adds Newly-Created Roles, Diversifying Expertise and Business Development

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Aug 02, 2018, 10:52 ET

NEW YORK, Aug. 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Sotheby's is pleased to announce the expansion of our Impressionist & Modern Art Department in the Americas, with several promotions and appointments.

SIMON SHAW VICE CHAIRMAN, FINE ART DIVISION

Sotheby’s expands its Impressionist & Modern Art team in the Americas with newly-created roles, diversifying expertise and business development. In the first half of 2018, the Sotheby’s team led the market with the sale of Amedeo Modigliani’s ‘Nu couché’ for $157.2 million.

After more than four years as Worldwide Co-Head of Impressionist & Modern Art at Sotheby's, and a decade leading the New York department, Simon Shaw will assume the full-time role of Vice Chairman of our Global Fine Art Division. In this new capacity, Simon will lend his expertise to help key clients build their collections across the spectrum of 20^th Century Art. Since joining the auction house in 1996, Simon's tenure has been distinguished by sales from the collections of some of the most notable names in the field and the auctions of the two highest-selling works in Sotheby's history: Edvard Munch's The Scream (2012), and Amedeo Modigliani's Nu couché (sur le côté gauche) (2018).

Simon joins long-tenured colleagues leading Sotheby's business development efforts in the Americas, including: Benjamin Doller and Lisa Dennison as Chairman, Americas; Brooke Lampley, who joined the auction house as Vice Chairman of Sotheby's Global Fine Art Division earlier this year; Thomas Bompard who has relocated to Los Angeles as Chairman of Sotheby's West Coast; and Clarissa Post as head Sotheby's Private Sales of Impressionist & Modern Art.

On a global basis, Sotheby's benefits from the leadership and expertise of Helena Newman, Worldwide Head of the Impressionist & Modern Art Department & Chairman of Sotheby's Europe and one of the industry's most experienced specialists with 30 years in the field. Based in London, she is joined by key members of Sotheby's extensive network across Europe including Philip Hook, Senior Director, Impressionist & Modern Art, London; Sam Valette, Vice Chairman, Private Sales Worldwide; and James Mackie, Head of the Impressionist & Modern Art Department, London; as well Sotheby's seasoned team in Asia, led by Patti Wong, Chairman of Sotheby's Asia and Kevin Ching, CEO of Sotheby's Asia.

NEW YORK IMPRESSIONIST & MODERN ART DEPARTMENT

August Uribe has been appointed Head of Sotheby's Impressionist & Modern Art Department in New York. Augie has had a long and distinguished career at Sotheby's that began in 1991, when he joined as Director of the Latin American Art Department, followed by several years in Los Angeles as Managing Director of Fine Arts. He joined the Impressionist & Modern Art Department in 2002, first as head of the Day Sale and then for seven years with the Evening Sale team. After several years at Phillips expanding his experience in the field of Contemporary art, Augie returned to Sotheby's last fall.

Augie is joined in leadership by Julian Dawes and Scott Niichel, Co-Deputy Heads of the New York Impressionist & Modern Art Department. Julian, who joined Sotheby's Impressionist & Modern Art department in 2008, has taken on the role of Head of Evening Sales, building upon the experience he gained as Co-Head of the Day Sale since 2016. Julian has also curated a number of private selling exhibitions for Sotheby's S|2 Gallery including Iconoplastic: 100 Years of De Stijl and Cherchez la Femme: Women and Surrealism.

Scott Niichel will assume full responsibility for the Impressionist & Modern Art Day Sale in New York. Scott joined Sotheby's in 2006 and spent more than five years as a specialist in the Russian Art department before moving to the Impressionist & Modern Art team in 2012. With Julian, Scott was appointed Co-Head of the Day Sale in 2016, and together they organized bi-annual sales of nearly $200 million. Scott also led the 2017 "white glove" (100% sold) auction Picasso Man & Beast: Works from the Collection of Marina Picasso, a sale which more than doubled its high estimate.

This expansion complements an already diverse group of talented specialists, who continue to propel Sotheby's strategy and growth in the category.

Since joining the Impressionist & Modern Art team in 2006, Molly Ott Ambler has played an integral role in advising top-tier collectors and institutions both at auction and private sales in New York, London and Paris. In 2009, Molly became the Head of Day Sales in New York, where she and her team consistently achieved outstanding results, and she joined the Evening Sale team as a Senior Specialist in 2016.

Liz Sterling joined the auction house in 2016 as the Head of American Art, and has since utilized her expertise to expand the category's collecting base through the integration of American works into Sotheby's Impressionist & Modern Art sales. Most recently she joined the department as Senior Specialist, and directed the sale of Georgia O'Keeffe's Lake George with White Birch, which sold for $11.3 million – nearly double its high estimate of $6 million – to a European Private collector this past May.

NEW ROLES

Furthering Sotheby's reach across the market, we are delighted to announce two newly-created roles within the Impressionist & Modern department: Lucian Simmons will join as Senior Specialist, in addition to his role as Vice Chairman, Worldwide Head of Worldwide Restitution, and Yin Zhao will join as Vice President, Specialist and Asia Business Development for the Global Fine Art Division. Both will bring their valuable relationships, experience and perspectives to the team.

Lucian Simmons joined Sotheby's in 1995, and in his more than 20 years at the Company has been pivotal in sourcing and selling art across categories at the highest level. Throughout his career, Lucian has played a key role in the sale of some of the most significant restituted artworks to come to auction, including Gustav Klimt's Kirche In Cassone, Litzelberg am Attersee and Bildnis Gertha Felsöványi, multiple of Kasimir Malevich's iconic Suprematist works, and Egon Schiele's Krumau Landschaft and Häuser mit bunter Wäsche (Vorstadt II). Overall, Lucian has been involved in the resolution of claims to art works valued in excess of $800 million.

Since joining the company's Private Client Group in 2011, where she works closely with specialists and implementing business development strategies worldwide, Yin Zhao has been an essential team member on all aspects of buying and selling. Fluent in Mandarin, Yin has also proven a key player in fostering the Company's extensive business development in Asia, particularly in China and Hong Kong and works closely with Sotheby's most senior business development leaders across Asia including Patti Wong, Jen Hua, Deputy Chairman, China, and Wendy Lin, Managing Director of Sotheby's Taiwan.

About Sotheby's

Sotheby's has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744. Sotheby's became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973), India (1992) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby's presents auctions in 11 different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby's BidNow program allows visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids from anywhere in the world. Sotheby's offers collectors the resources of Sotheby's Financial Services, the world's only full-service art financing company, as well as the collection, artist, estate & foundation advisory services of its subsidiary, Art Agency, Partners. Sotheby's presents private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby's Global Fine Art Division, and three retail businesses: Sotheby's Wine, Sotheby's Diamonds, and Viyet, the online marketplace for interior design. Sotheby's has a global network of 80 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (BID).