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.