Speaker Biographies

2015 National Conference Sunday, November 8 & Monday, November 9, 2015

Robin M. Bonner joined the IRS Office of Art Appraisal Services after 30 years of experience as an artist, private dealer, gallery director, gallery owner, and independent appraiser. Before joining the Service she owned RBW Fine Art Appraisal Services with offices in the Washington, D.C., area and Santa Fe, N.M. Ms. Bonner has experience in appraising and appraisal reviews of 19th-21st century European and American art and other types of cultural properties. She has served on many boards including the Washington, D.C. chapter of the American Society of Appraisers, and the Washington, D.C. chapter and national board of ArtTable in New York. Ms. Bonner was recently accepted to serve on the Personal Property Resource Panel for The Appraisal Foundation, Washington, D.C.

Stephen D. Brodie has more than 35 years of experience as both a corporate and a real estate lawyer. In addition to his integral role as a partner in the firm's Real Estate Department, Steve is co-chair of the firm's Corporate Department, chair of the Financial Institutions Practice Group and a member of Herrick’s Executive Committee. In recent years, Steve's practice has expanded to include banks and niche lenders in lending against different kinds of collateral, such as fine art owned by both collectors and dealers. He also advises art title insurers, as well as banks that are creating and revising written credit policies for both art and real estate lending. He works closely with Herrick's Art Law Group in consignment and buy/sell transactions unrelated to bank financings. Steve is a frequent speaker and writer on UCC, real estate and art law topics.

Shari Cavin, AAA received her certification in 2011 in Self-Taught/Outsider Art. She served on the Board of Directors, and the Ethics Committee for three years. She and her partner Randall Morris, formed Cavin-Morris Gallery thirty years ago. The gallery was an early eloquent champion of self- taught artists, insisting that their works be respected on its merits, and by extension, the intentionality of the artists be similarly respected. Their first exhibitions included works by artists that are today well known, including Henry Darger, Bill Traylor, Martin Ramirez and Bessie Harvey. Today they represent a new generation of international self-taught artists whose work remains authentic and visionary while representative of contemporary times. Over the years the gallery has helped form individualized collection of great merit, encouraging collectors to look at all art forms, and to stay informed.

Ramón Cernuda is a publisher, editor, writer, and Cuban art collector. After 30 years, as a private art collector and researcher of Cuban art, Mr. Cernuda established Cernuda Arte gallery in October 2000. He studied at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Puerto Rico. He published La Gran Enciclopedia Martiana and was a founding member of the Enciclopedia de Cuba Publishing Group. He was a member of the board of directors of the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture from 1980-1994 and served as Vice President from 1987-1990. On September 18, 1989, Cernuda sued the U.S. government for violation of First Amendment protections for confiscating 130 artworks of his Cuban art collection. The case of Cernuda v. Heavey was decided in favor of the Cernuda family, therefore eliminating all embargo applications on Cuban art in the United States. An internationally recognized expert on Cuban art, Mr. Cernuda advises private collectors on acquisitions and is frequently consulted on authenticity of Cuban artworks by major international auction houses. Ramón Cernuda has written for El Nuevo Herald, and has been interviewed and quoted on issues pertaining to Cuban art by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Art Newspaper (London and Madrid), Fortune Magazine, Art and Auction, Art and Antiques, Travel and Leisure, Latino Leaders, and Sixty Minutes. He is the author of the scholarly catalogue One Hundred Years of Cuban Landscape: 1850 to 1950. He is a lecturer and author of catalogue essays and biographical writings on prominent Cuban painters of the past and present. In 2010, he edited and published a book on the life and work of Modern Cuban master Carlos Enríquez. He is the publisher of the series Important Cuban Artworks, of which twelve volumes have been published since 2002.

212 West 35th Street 11th Floor South | New York, New York 10001 | 212.889.5404 | appraisersassociation.org 2 Stephen W. Clark is Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for the J. Paul Getty Trust in Los Angeles. After receiving his undergraduate degree from Hamilton College and his law degree from Fordham University, Mr. Clark was an associate at the New York law firm Brown & Wood before working as Deputy General Counsel at The Museum of Modern Art in New York from 1994 to 2008. Mr. Clark also served as Assistant Director of the American Craft Museum in 1986-1987. He serves on the Boards of the California Museum Association and the International Cultural Property Society, and was President of the Museum Association of New York. Mr. Clark has also served as Chairman of the Museum Attorney's Group and as a member of the Steering Committee and faculty for the annual American Law Institute/Continuing Legal Education conference "Legal Issues of Museum Administration." His most recent article, Nazi Era Claims and Art Museums: The American Perspective, was published in the Summer 2014 edition of Collections magazine.

Michael Cohn, AAA is an appraiser and advisor of fine arts and collectibles. He has more than 30 years experience with these fine arts and is a specialist in Asian antiques, furniture and contemporary art. He has traveled extensively in Asia and has participated in many Asian symposiums. He is a Trustee of Hunter College Foundation and on the Art Advisory Committee for Hunter College Galleries. He is active in many art organizations including the Contemporary Council of the New Museum, Member of America Committee of South Asia Art, the Appraisal Committee of the National Arts Club- NY, and Member of the Salvador Dali Research Center. Furthermore, he was previous co-chair of National Conference of the Appraisers Association of America as well as presently District Representative to the Board. He is also a Trustee of Chai Foundation, past trustee of Friends without a Border (Cambodian children’s hospital) and on the Board of Cherry Lane Theater-NY. In addition, he teaches on the arts at New York University SPS. Michael has participated on art panels including “ Art Management” Art Moscow, Moscow, Russia, “Passions Collector’s Issues” Panel/ Lecture AIFAF American International Fine Art Fair, Palm Beach, FL and “ Buddhist Art” at Phoenix Art Museum. He also has contributed articles for the following books An Approach to Advance Problems in Appraising Art and the Appraisers Association recent book, Appraising Art: The Definitive Guide to Appraising Fine and Decorative Arts.

Peter Costanzo, AAA joined Doyle New York as a Director in the Rare Book Department in 2010. Born into an auction family, Peter has been surrounded by auctions his entire life. While at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, Peter completed his Art History thesis on the Civil War photography of Mathew Brady and Alexander Gardner. Peter attended Sotheby’s Institute in New York, gaining a Master’s Degree in American Fine & Decorative Arts, and wrote his dissertation on the Civil War paintings of American artist Eastman Johnson. Upon joining Bloomsbury Auctions in 2007, Peter rose the ranks from Junior Cataloguer to Specialist and conducted 30 sales as Principal Auctioneer. A rare book specialist with a focus on Americana, Peter seeks quality consignments in that field along with literature, manuscripts, original illustration art, private press and fine bindings. Peter also conducts fundraising auction events and lectures frequently on Americana and Rare Book Collecting.

Diane D’Amato is the Director of Luxury Accessories at Heritage Auctions in its New York Office. Diane is a highly driven leader with extensive management experience in the luxury market, an entrepreneurial spirit, impeccable foresight and vision of market trends. She is the consummate professional, passionate about fashion and leather goods with unprecedented results in opening and managing a business, leading its $14 million Luxury Accessories department as the department’s Director, Diane assists consignors and collectors with appraisals as well as supervises the category’s double digit revenue grow in Heritage’s New York office. Diane made her name in the Luxury Accessories world following high profile positions working for Hermes of Paris and Louis Vuitton, where her buying trips to Paris were influential in setting market trends in the United States and she oversaw more than $12 million in annual sales. Her specialty is in creating exclusive marketing

212 West 35th Street 11th Floor South | New York, New York 10001 | 212.889.5404 | appraisersassociation.org 3 partnerships and forging loyal client relationships. Diane is based in New York, joining the talent-rich Heritage team stewarding the brand. Diane has used her talents to do extensive charitable fundraising, including sales that have benefited FATE (Foundation for Autism Training & Education), Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Leila Dunbar, AAA has more than 28 years full time experience in dealing, auctioneering, and appraising pop culture memorabilia. From 1999-2008 she served as SVP and Director of Sotheby’s Collectibles, selling more than $75 million in sports, entertainment, toys, automotive, animation art, movie posters, comic books and other memorabilia. In 2008 Leila founded her own appraisal company, with approximately $400 million in appraised items to date. Past projects include work with the Motown Museum, United States Golf Association, National Baseball, Pro Football, Country Music and Rock and Roll Halls of Fame, Warner Bros., Stephen Spielberg, Keith Richards, Bobby Orr and Kareem-Abdul Jabbar. Leila is a Certified Member of the Appraisers Association specializing in Sports and Entertainment Memorabilia and Wine, as well as a professional member of the ISA. In 2013 she was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Appraisal Foundation, and is a 20-year veteran appraiser on the PBS series “Antiques Roadshow.”

Andrew Edlin was born in Manhattan and grew up in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. After graduating from the Horace Mann School in 1979, he attended the University of Vermont, where he received his B.A. in English Literature in 1983. In 2001, Edlin founded Andrew Edlin Gallery with a program specializing in self-taught and Outsider Art. He acquired the Outsider Art Fair (founded in 1993) in 2012 under the auspices of the newly formed company, Wide Open Arts, and added a Paris edition of the fair in 2013. Edlin moved his gallery from Chelsea to 212 Bowery this October.

Kathryn Erickson works on collections management responsibilities for the GSA’s Fine Arts Collection as a Fine Arts Management Specialist with the U.S. General Services Administration. She has frequently lectured about GSA’s art collection, including ownership of New Deal artwork and has been working with GSA’s collection for 20 years. Ms. Erickson has an M.A. in Museum Studies from The George Washington University.

Ronald Fiamma is the Global Head of Private Collections, Consumer Lines | AIG Property Casualty. Based in New York and with AIG since 2002, Ron manages the firm’s global insurance portfolio of client collections of fine art, jewelry, collector automobiles and wine. Prior to joining Private Client Group and Consumer Lines, Ron spent five years in the Financial Institutions commercial division of AIG as an underwriting manager of E&O and D&O coverage for hedge funds, family offices, investment advisors, and securities broker/dealers. He first joined AIG after twenty years in the financial services industry as a broker, trader and analyst. Ron graduated from Vanderbilt University with degrees in Art History and Philosophy and continued his graduate work in Rome and Florence, Italy in art history, archaeology and art restoration. He maintains his childhood fascination with vintage automobiles and Formula 1 racing.

Sharon Flescher has been the Executive Director of the International Foundation for Art Research (IFAR) since 1998 and Editor-in-Chief of IFAR Journal. A graduate of Barnard College, Dr. Flescher holds Masters Degrees in both English literature and art history and has a Ph.D. in art history from Columbia University. She also attended the Wharton School of Business. Her professional career has straddled the academic, business and nonprofit worlds. Prior to IFAR, she was Director of The Equitable (now AXA) Foundation and held positions at the National Endowment for the Humanities, Central Park Conservancy, Brooklyn College, Metropolitan Museum, and was Adjunct Associate Professor at NYU. Dr. Flescher has lectured and published widely. Her articles appear in books such as the Grove Dictionary of Art; The Expert Versus the Object; Posthumous Bronzes in Law and Art

212 West 35th Street 11th Floor South | New York, New York 10001 | 212.889.5404 | appraisersassociation.org 4 History; and the Legal Guide to Museum Professionals, and in periodicals such as the Art Journal, Arts Magazine, and IFAR Journal, for which she has written dozens of feature and news stories. Her book, Zacharie Astruc, Critic, Artist, and Japoniste, was published by Garland Press in, “Outstanding Dissertations in the Fine Arts.” Dr. Flescher has served on advisory roundtables for the U.S. State Department, the CIA, and the National Archives and Records Administration. She conceived and has been Project Director of IFAR’s Art Law & Cultural Property Database; conceived and launched IFAR’s Catalogue Raisonné Database and co-authored its online Provenance Guide, all at www.ifar.org.

Thomas Galbraith is Managing Director, Auctions at Paddle8. He is responsible for managing Paddle8’s worldwide sales of art, design, and collectibles and oversees a teams of specialists based in New York, Los Angeles, and London. Thomas has deep experience in the online art landscape, among other positions, having worked at artnet AG serving as Director of Global Strategy. He previously held roles at The Art Loss Register, AIG Private Client Group, and AXA Art Insurance Corporation. Galbraith received his MA in Art History from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. He has participated in and led panels as well as given speeches in the US, Europe and Asia. He has been featured in articles in the New York Times, Financial Times, and TheStreet.com among others and provided a quarterly art market update to Bloomberg Radio.

Josefa Gonzalez Mariscal, AAA is a fine arts appraiser and consultant specializing in Latin American Art with emphasis in Spanish Colonial art. She grew up and studied in Mexico City and now resides in Houston, Texas. She is a former Cultural Attaché for the Mexican government. Josefa has lectured and published on Spanish Colonial art. She has worked identifying Latin American artworks in legal cases, for US Customs and the FBI. Josefa does consulting on foreign patrimony laws and provenance issues. She has helped in the repatriation of illegally imported artistic and cultural artifacts to their country of origin. Her Latin American expertise had led her to work in a complex art market where currency fluctuations and controls, export restrictions and patrimonial laws affect value. Josefa is an alumna of the NYU appraisal studies program. She is a member of the International Society of Appraisers and the Appraisers Association of America.

Karin Gross started her legal career at the U.S. House of Representatives, drafting legislation for Members of Congress and Committees. For more than 25 years, she has worked as an IRS attorney- supervisor in Washington, DC, and is an expert on the charitable contribution deduction. Karin is a drafter of the Treasury Regulations on appraisals of property donated to charity and works closely with the IRS’s Office of Art Appraisal Services. Karin earned her law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Master of Laws in Taxation from Georgetown University. She has served on the Board of Advisors of the NYU Law School’s National School Center on Philanthropy and the Law and is a member of the DC Bar.

Jane Kallir Co-Director of the Galerie St. Etienne, is an authority on Austrian and German Expressionism and early 20th-century American and European self-taught art. She is the author of over 20 books in her areas of expertise, including The Folk Art Tradition: Naive Painting in Europe and the United States and three monographs on Grandma Moses. She has curated exhibitions for many museums in the US, Europe and Asia, including the National Gallery of Art in Washington and the Belvedere in Vienna.

Joanne Kesten is an art advisor and appraiser based in New York, NY. She earned a B.A. in Art History from McGill University, a Masters of Education in Psychology from the University of Virginia, a Masters in Art History from Hunter College, and her Certificate of Uniform Standards of Appraisal Practice from NYU. Kesten has taught and lectured at several institutions, including NYU, Georgetown University, Cooper Union, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Her writing has been published

212 West 35th Street 11th Floor South | New York, New York 10001 | 212.889.5404 | appraisersassociation.org 5 in The Portraits Speak: Chuck Close in Conversation With 27 of His Subjects, and Joan Miro: Two Early Works. Her professional affiliations include the Appraisers Association of America, the American Association of Museum, and ArtTable.

Tina Lidogoster is the Assistant Museum Librarian for Technical Services and Departmental Special Projects at the Thomas J. Watson Library of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her library experience includes Columbia University's Rare Book and Manuscripts Library, the Drawing and Archives collection at the Avery Art and Architecture Library, and the Cloisters Library of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She leads the visiting researcher instruction and outreach team at the Thomas J. Watson Library and her professional interests include technical services, reference, cataloging and digitization. She holds a BA in Modern European History from Columbia University and received her MLIS from the Palmer School at Long Island University.

John Lindaman has been a librarian at the Metropolitan Museum of Art since 2003. While his main focus is in technical services, he has also been a member of Watson Library’s highly innovative instruction programs, a reference librarian, and has filled many other roles within the library. He is an adjunct professor of library science for the Palmer School of Library and Information Science at Long Island University. He received his BA in Rhetoric and Communication Studies from the University of Virginia, and his MLS from Queens College of the City of New York.

Mark Lurie is the Founder & CEO of Lofty.com, the expert-vetted online marketplace for valuable fine art, antiques and collectibles. In the past, Mark worked at Bessemer Venture Partners, making investments in new ecommerce and technology startups. Prior to Bessemer, he cofounded Abroad101.com, the leading software and review website in the international education industry. Mark has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA from Harvard College, where he studied the history of economic thought. He is an Eagle Scout and enthusiastic outdoorsman, and has a deep interest in American history and an appreciation for its objects.

Benjamin R. Mandel is a global strategist in the Multi-Asset Solutions group of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, where he formulates asset allocation views based on analysis of the global economy. He is also an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Ben began his career as an economist in the International Finance division at the Federal Reserve Board and later moved to the International Research group at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, he was a member of the Global Economics team at Citi Research. Ben’s academic research has been published in leading scholarly journals, including: American Economic Review, American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, Quantitative Finance and the Journal of Economic Perspectives. He has held adjunct faculty positions at NYU Stern School of Business and Georgetown University, as well as various consultancy roles for the World Bank. Ben received a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, Davis and a B.Sc. in Applied Economics from Cornell University.

Amelia Manderscheid is a Specialist and Global Head of eCommerce in the Post-War & Contemporary Art department at Christie’s. She is Head of Sale for Andy Warhol at Christie’s, overseeing Christie’s multi-year exclusive partnership with The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. As the primary driver for this extraordinary endeavor, Amelia strategizes and executes global tours and sale initiatives of iconic Warhol highlights, fostering client relationships and driving major sales through Christie’s eCommerce and Private Sales platforms. Amelia has conducted extensive scholarly research on Andy Warhol and is a global market maker for the artist’s work. Amelia oversees the burgeoning eCommerce sale channel for Post-War & Contemporary Art globally, with over $20M in fine art sales annually. She is responsible for strategic vision, profile and growth of Christie’s as a pioneer in fine art

212 West 35th Street 11th Floor South | New York, New York 10001 | 212.889.5404 | appraisersassociation.org 6 eCommerce and as a thought leader in the technology space. Amelia holds dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Economics and Art History from Wellesley College and is a member of the Columbia Graduate School of Business Executive class of 2017. She currently serves on the Board of the New York Wellesley Friends of Art and the Brooklyn Museum Contemporary Council.

Lark E. Mason, AAA is the owner of Lark Mason Associates, a fine art and antique action house in New York City and iGavel Auctions, an online auction platform. He worked at Sotheby’s New York between 1979-2003 as a Senior Vice President and specialist in Chinese art with their Chinese Works of Art Department, and as Director of Online Auctions for Sothebys.com. Lark Mason is a certified member of the Appraisers Association of America and has successfully completed the 15-hour course and examination of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP), the Congressionally-recognized set of appraisal standards promulgated by The Appraisal Foundation. He is the translator and author of many articles and books, including: The Connoisseurship of Chinese Furniture by Wang Shi Xiang (translator); Classic Chinese Furniture of the Qing Dynasty (translator); and Asian Art (author). In his capacity at Sotheby’s he was responsible for the cataloguing of the sales and appraisal of Chinese works of art, becoming intimately familiar with all aspects of the marketplace. He has advised major American and foreign institutions on the sale and appraisal of Western and Asian art, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, The Freer Museum and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Art Institute of Chicago, The Honolulu Academy of Arts, and many others. He has regularly served on vetting committees for Chinese and Asian art for many art and antique shows, including the International Fine Art and Antique Dealers Show, the Winter Antiques Show, and The Arts of Pacific Asia Show in New York City. He was selected to appear on the PBS series “The Antiques Roadshow” and has been a regular member since its inception in 1996.

Jennifer Mass is the Senior Scientist and Director of the Winterthur Museum’s Scientific Research and Analysis Laboratory and Adjunct Faculty in the Winterthur/University of Delaware M.S. Program in Art Conservation. She is also President of Scientific Analysis of Fine Art, LLC, a consulting firm specializing in questions of art attribution and mechanisms of degradation. Jennifer received her Ph.D. in chemistry from Cornell University and was awarded a Mellon postdoctoral fellowship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Most recently she has focused her research program on the degradation mechanisms of the pigments of the early modernists, in particular the works of Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Edvard Munch. She has presented her research at dozens of museums and professional conferences worldwide, including the Louvre, the Getty, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, and the Guggenheim Bilbao.

Clare McAndrew, Ph.D. is a cultural economist, investment analyst and author. Clare founded Arts Economics in 2005. Arts Economics (www.artseconomics.com) is a research and consulting firm focused exclusively on the art economy. The company carries out bespoke research and analysis on all aspects of the fine and decorative art market for private and institutional clients. Clare completed her PhD in economics at Trinity College Dublin in 2001, where she also lectured and taught economics for four years. She then directed a number of research projects for the Arts Council England on the effects of regulation, taxation and other issues in the visual arts market. In 2002, Clare joined US firm Kusin & Company, a boutique investment banking firm specializing in art investment, as chief economist. After three years in the US, Clare returned to Europe in 2005, and continued her work in the art market in a private research and consulting capacity for a global client base. Clare set up Arts Economics to focus her efforts on art market research and analysis, and works with a network of private consultants and academic scholars in providing research and consulting services to the global art trade and financial sector. Clare has published widely on the economics of the art market,

212 West 35th Street 11th Floor South | New York, New York 10001 | 212.889.5404 | appraisersassociation.org 7 including her book entitled Fine Art and High Finance, published by Wiley. She also produces an annual macro-economic report on the global art market for The European Fine Art Foundation (TEFAF).

Karen McManus, AAA is Director at Jacqueline Silverman & Associates, Inc., a boutique Los Angeles appraisal firm specializing in Impressionist, Modern, Post-War and Contemporary fine art. She received her B.A. in art history from UCLA and masters degrees in art history and museum studies from Syracuse University. Karen is an AQB Certified USPAP Instructor and an adjunct professor in the Sotheby’s Institute Art Business program at Claremont Graduate University. Prior to her career as an appraiser, Karen was the registrar for the permanent collection at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, and assisted with the museum’s biennial fundraising art auction. Her previous teaching experience includes art history survey courses taught at Cazenovia College and Syracuse University and the Essentials of Appraising course for the Appraisal Studies in Fine and Decorative Arts certificate program at New York University. Karen is a certified member and current board member of the Appraisers Association of America.

Carmen Melián, AAA has been a Specialist, Director and Senior Specialist in Latin American Art Department, Sotheby’s New York from 1999 – 2014. For over fifteen years, Ms. Melián worked exclusively in the Latin American Art Field, serving as chief expert for bi-annual auctions of Latin American Art. The sales covered work produced over the past five hundred years and over fifteen countries. Annual sales reached over forty five million USD in some years. During her time at Sotheby’s, Ms. Melián worked closely with Sotheby’s Appraisals Department on insurance, donation and estate tax projects for high net worth clients; insurance and indemnity projects for museums and other cultural institutions and insurance and donation valuations for corporations. Previous to her time at Sotheby’s, Ms. Melián was the Director of the Nohra Haime Gallery, New York, from 1983 - 1994.The Nohra Haime Gallery is a Contemporary Art Gallery showing a cross section of artists from the Americas and Europe. It is one of New York’s premier venues for Latin American Art on the secondary market. Ms. Melián has also served as Adjunct Professor, New York University, School of Professional Studies, teaching the Latin American Art Seminar since 2002.

Michael Murphy is an Accredited Member of the Appraisers Association of America. Michael specializes in contemporary and antique Asian material with an emphasis on Chinese and Japanese material. He has extensive professional experience as a researcher, including designing, fielding and analyzing various quantitative and qualitative research techniques as well as archival research. He has studied Chinese and Japanese art and language and the fundamentals of ink painting.

Jim Oliveira was born in 1965 and grew up in Enfield, Connecticut. At an early age he began to collect old bottles and developed a life-long interest in glass. From 1983-1987 he attended Hofstra University where he studied Art History with a specialization in Art and Antique Appraisal. At Hofstra he was mentored by Dr. Bob Myron and studied with art critic Joe Masheck. In 1988 he moved to downtown New York and began to pursue a career as a writer, painter, and performer. While working at the Charles Cowles Gallery in 1990 he met Sara Blumberg. Sharing an interest in art and antiques, Sara and Jim founded Glass Past in 1995 and became specialized dealers in the field of 20th century Murano art glass. Over the past two decades, Jim has served as co-director of Glass Past. In that time he has curated numerous shows, exhibitions and specialized auctions of 20th century Murano glass including four single owner collections of Italians glass masterworks for the Wright auction house in Chicago. Working as a researcher, advisor, and consultant for private clients as well as public and private institutions, Jim remains a passionate advocate of the field.

212 West 35th Street 11th Floor South | New York, New York 10001 | 212.889.5404 | appraisersassociation.org 8 Michael Plummer is Principal and Co-Founder of Artvest Partners LLC, an art advisory firm that counsels private clients, museums, foundations, and Fortune 500 companies on valuations, market projections, acquisitions, dispositions, and business strategies related to art. Additionally, Artvest arranges art financing for private collectors and dealers. Since its founding in 2009, Artvest has guided clients from around the globe on projects in the billions of dollars. In 2013, while consulting for Citibank’s Equity Research Group, Mr. Plummer and Artvest concluded a groundbreaking, thirteen- year analysis of Sotheby’s that quickly led to activist investors taking sizeable positions in the company. In 2014, Mr. Plummer and Artvest were named as an Expert Witness for the Detroit Institute of Arts and the City of Detroit in the City’s Chapter 9 bankruptcy trial.

Robin Pogrebin is a reporter on the Culture Desk of The New York Times, where she covers arts institutions, architecture and other topics. At the Times, she has also covered the magazine industry for the Business Desk and city news for the Metro Desk. Prior to joining the Times in 1995, she was an associate producer for Peter Jennings’ documentary unit at ABC News, where she did stories on Bosnia and Haiti. She also spent three years as a staff reporter at The New York Observer, where she covered a range of subjects, including the law. She has written freelance articles for magazines like New York, Vogue, Town & Country and Departures. She lives in New York City with her husband and two children.

Andrea Puccio has been a librarian at the Thomas J. Watson Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art since 2006. Her chief responsibility is cataloging both new and rare material but is also a reference librarian and actively involved in the Library’s instruction and outreach programs. She holds a BFA in Printmaking from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and a MS in Library and Information Science from Pratt Institute.

David Rago began dealing in American decorative ceramics at the age of sixteen, at a flea market in his home state of New Jersey. Today, with partners Suzanne Perrault and Miriam Tucker, he oversees the auction house that bears his name, sells privately in the field of 20th/21st C. Design, lectures nationally and appears as an expert appraiser for the PBS series, Antiques Roadshow, where he specializes in decorative ceramics and porcelain.

Alex Rosenberg, Sc.D., AAA, ASA is a life-certified and accredited Senior Appraiser of Personal Property/Fine Art by the Appraisers Association of America and the American Society of Appraisers (ASA), specializing in Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary Art with a focus on Cuban Art. He is a former president of the Appraisers Association, and has been awarded their highest honors for service to the profession. With over 40 years experience as an art dealer, appraiser and expert witness, Dr. Rosenberg is recognized as an expert in dealing with IRS problems related to estates and gifts. He holds a Doctor of Science degree in the Arts from the Instituto Superior de Art (ISA) in Havana. Dr. Rosenberg has recently served as an Expert Witness on numerous high profile court cases, including De Sole v. Knoedler Gallery and The Estate of Robert Rauschenberg. He has written extensively on the subject of appraising, including his recent book, An Approach to Advanced Problems in Appraising Art, with a Special Focus on Cuba, and he co-authored the Uniform Standards for Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) for the Appraisers Association. Dr. Rosenberg has served as Visiting Professor of Art at ISA since 1994.

Molly Seiler, AAA is an independent art historian, art consultant, and a certified member of the Appraisers Association of America with expertise in 19th & 20th Century Furniture and Decorative Art. Previously, Ms. Seiler was a curator of Decorative Art at The Brooklyn Museum. She has over twenty years of professional experience researching and cataloguing objects, curating exhibitions, and lecturing and writing on various aspects of historical and modern design. Her articles have

212 West 35th Street 11th Floor South | New York, New York 10001 | 212.889.5404 | appraisersassociation.org 9 appeared in the scholarly journal Studies in the Decorative Arts, and in the catalogues of The Winter Antiques Show and Sanford Smith’s Modernism Show.

Brad Shar attended the New School’s Art history program, after growing up in and around the NY art world, while simultaneously beginning his career at Lowy where he has now been working alongside his father Larry for over 20 years. On top of managing a staff of skilled artists and craftsmen, Brad is a top framing consultant, and one of the world’s few experts on historical antique frames. Brad has become a well-known fixture in the New York art world, and is currently Vice President and co-owner of Lowy.

Victoria Shaw-Williamson, AAA is a certified appraiser specializing in fine and decorative art. She works as a Specialist and Consultant to 1stdibs, the leading online marketplace for design, art and collectibles, and as an adjunct instructor and lecturer at NYU School of Professional Studies. In her position at 1stdibs, Victoria guides a team of experts who review and vet the website’s merchandise for authenticity and quality and advises on dealer acquisition and partnerships. As adjunct instructor and lecturer at NYU School of Professional Studies, she teaches on the topic of appraising personal property and household contents. Prior to her current positions, Victoria was an Assistant Vice President and Furniture Specialist at Christie’s, where she oversaw monthly sales of furniture and decorative art.

Lewis A. Shepard has been a fine arts appraiser for more than forty years. He has written appraisals for estate, insurance and donation purposes, also advising numerous collectors, art galleries and museums throughout the United States. He has written texts, exhibition catalogs and magazine articles within his areas of expertise. He was the Coordinator of Appraisal Studies at the Rhode Island School of Design Continuing Education Program from 2001-2006. Lewis A. Shepard received his BA in Art History from Rutgers University and his MA from Indiana University in the same discipline. He completed the Training Program at Sotheby-Parke Bernet Galleries, where he was an auctioneer, cataloguer and department head. He served as the Curator of Collections at The Mead Art Museum at Amherst College. Mr. Shepard has taught at Indiana University, Amherst College, Smith College, RISD and Bentley University. He has lectured at numerous museums, libraries and for private groups in New England. He and his wife collect American Contemporary Art and Native American Decorative Arts.

Sharon Goodman Squires, AAA has nearly twenty years of professional experience in the field of Fine Art with a special expertise in appraising works from the late 19th century to the most current international contemporary art. She holds masters degrees from the University of Southern California and has years of experience as Contemporary Art Specialist at auction houses as well as curatorial positions the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Norton Simon Museum. She joined JS&A in 2014 after ten years of appraising art privately and for an international auction house. She is a certified member of the Appraisers Association of America.

Barbara Strongin is a 35-year veteran of the Global Fine Art Auction Industry where she held a number of executive level positions. Ms. Strongin served as Senior Vice President/Director of Operations for Christie’s Auction House over the course of twenty-six years where she was responsible for the day- to-day operations for Christie’s flagship NY auction site. As a member of their Senior Management Committee, she was able to help plan and prepare for the various art market cycles while managing the operations of the business. She is a Licensed Auctioneer in New York, and as a senior auctioneer for Christie’s, was tasked with auctioneering a multitude of sale categories including Contemporary and Post-War Art, Impressionist and Modern Art, Jewelry, Latin American Art and many other fine and decorative art sales. She also assisted the New York City Consumer Affairs Department in rewriting several regulations governing auctions. Ms. Strongin currently serves as Director of Administration at

212 West 35th Street 11th Floor South | New York, New York 10001 | 212.889.5404 | appraisersassociation.org 10 Sotheby’s Institute – New York. She teaches the Auction Business Course, which is a 3-credit course for the Art Business Masters Degree Program and has lectured on behalf of the Institute in London, Los Angeles, Boston, Singapore and Hong Kong. In addition to her duties at Sotheby’s Institute, she conducts Auctioneer’s Training Programs to train the auctioneers for other International fine art auction houses. She also works with Charity Auctioneers to improve their skills needed in this unique segment of the auction world.

Leslie Umberger is a curator and art historian who has specialized in folk, self-taught, and vernacular art since the late 1990s. Umberger has sought to delineate between tradition-based and autonomous artistic practices and properly situate such makers within a greater American art history. She has curated over fifty exhibitions and lectured and published widely; notable and recent publications include: Something to Take My Place: The Art of Lonnie Holley (Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, College of Charleston, South Carolina; 2015); Untitled: The Art of James Castle (Smithsonian American Art Museum; 2014), and Sublime Spaces & Visionary Worlds: Built Environments of Vernacular Artists (Princeton Architectural Press; 2007). Umberger is Curator of Folk and Self-taught Art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.

Renée Vara, AAA is the Director of Vara Fine Arts, a full service private curatorial firm specializing in 20th Century established and emerging art. For over a decade she was the National Fine Arts Specialist at Chubb Insurance, where she served as the private curator and collection manager for Artnews Magazine’s "Top 100 Collectors" with collections valued up to $1B. Renée has been an active Adjunct Professor and Curriculum Consultant at NYU SCPS for over 14 years, covering over 14 core courses in Art Market Studies, Museum Studies and Art History. In 2011 she was awarded the NYU Excellence in Teaching Award. Renée has also served as an Adjunct Professor at the Sotheby’s Institute of Art and was an Appointed Lecturer at the Guggenheim for over 3 years. She has lectured and published on collecting contemporary art and on the art market in countless publications and venues, and curates international emerging art shows at fairs around the world including Art Basel Miami, Scope, Frieze, and the Istanbul Biennale. She also serves as an Executive Board Member for the Appraisers Association of America and as the Editorial Director and Publisher of the independent artist journal, INPUT (www.inputjournal.org).

James Zemaitis has been the Visiting Curator of Decorative Arts at the Indianapolis Museum of Art since 2013. For James this position represents a new chapter in a career which has been mostly spent in in the trenches of the auction market. From 2003 to 2013, James was a Senior Vice President at Sotheby’s, where he curated, edited and produced over 50 auctions and catalogues of 20th and 21st Century Design. Under his direction, world records were established, lost, and re-set for over 100 artists and designers, including such luminaries as Marianne Brandt, George Nakashima, Marc Newson, Harry Bertoia and Gerrit Rietveld. Although James is best known for his expertise in the history of Modern Design, especially American Modernism of the 1920s-30s, he has represented a diverse group of collectors and collections over the year, most prominently Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth in 2003, Robert Rubin’s collection of French Midcentury Design in 2004, The Krosnick Collection of Nakashima in 2006, The Estate of Robert Isabell in 2009, an original American interior of Ruhlmann in 2010, and the Collection of Mark McDonald in 2012. Prior to Sotheby’s, James served as Director of 20th Century Design at Phillips, where he is credited with developing and popularizing the modern secondary market for postwar and contemporary design. Over the years, James has been the subject of two lengthy profiles in The New York Times and has been honored with awards in publications including Wallpaper*, Art & Auction, and New York. With Alexander Payne, he co- authored in 2003 The Coffee Table Coffee Table Book, and he continues to write for various art and design magazines. James received his B.A. in Art History from Oberlin College, where he has served on the Visiting Committee of the Allen Memorial Art Museum since 2007. He is presently finishing his

212 West 35th Street 11th Floor South | New York, New York 10001 | 212.889.5404 | appraisersassociation.org 11 M.A. in Decorative Arts, Design and Material Culture from the Bard Graduate Center in New York. He lives in Mendham, NJ.

212 West 35th Street 11th Floor South | New York, New York 10001 | 212.889.5404 | appraisersassociation.org 12