Sotheby’s Institute of Art | Extraordinary Women in the Art World

March is Women’s Month around the world and the Sotheby’s Institute of Art is celebrating a selection of extraordinary women from the world of art. Following their passion for art throughout their professional career – decades-long for some, burgeoning for others – they have made their mark as auctioneers, gallery owners, writers, and entrepreneurs in a challenging, but rewarding environment. Discover three of them, and learn more about how their passion brought them where they are today.

Amy Cappellazzo
Even before she spoke at Sotheby’s Institute’s first panel that focused on women leaders in the art market in New York in September 2016, Amy Cappellazzo has been on our radar of powerful women to watch in the art market.

Cappellazzo is Chairman of the Fine Arts Division at Sotheby’s; before, she was a founder and principal of Art Agency, Partners, a global art advisory firm acquired by Sotheby’s in January 2016. As an advisor, Amy drew upon 13 years of experience in the art market as a leader in the field of Post-War & Contemporary Art. Amy has overseen the sale of some of the most important collections and works of art of our time, served as a pioneer in private sales and online auctions, and acted as an advisor to numerous families, foundations, and trusts.

Melanie Gerlis
Since graduating from Sotheby’s Institute in 2006, Melanie Gerlis has been an expert of art market and finance. As the art market columnist for the Financial Times and Editor at Large for The Art Newspaper, she was recently one of the panelists of Bourgeois/Kusama: Women in Art History, a discussion held at Sotheby’s auction house exploring how Louise Bourgeois and Yayoi Kusama opened up new territories for female artistic expression. She also contributed an entry on private museums and the art market in Art Business Today: 20 Key Topics, a collaborative book edited by Professor Jos Hackforth-Jones and published by Lund Humphries in 2016.

Helena Newman
Under the gavel of Sotheby’s auctioneer Helena Newman, Gustav Klimt’s exceptional summer landscape Bauerngarten inspired energetic bidding to achieve £48 million on March 1, 2017 – the third most expensive artwork ever sold at auction in Europe in a sale that overall brought in the highest total for any auction ever staged in London.

Chairman of Sotheby’s Europe since July 2016, the 28-year veteran of the auction house said after the historic sale: “Tonight’s outstanding result is a new benchmark for London sales as much as it is a statement on the momentum of the global art market in 2017”. The only woman alongside fellow chairmen Oliver Barker, Mario Tavella, and Philipp Württemberg, Helena Newman has long been at the forefront of the development of the Impressionist & Modern Art market, building extensive contacts with a wide range of international collectors and institutions.

Learn about more women in art with the Sotheby’s Institute of Art

About Sotheby’s Institute of Art

Sotheby’s Institute of Art is The Graduate School of Art and its Markets. Evolving from a small connoisseurship program started by Sotheby’s Auction House in 1969, Sotheby’s Institute is now the foremost leader in art business education and object-based learning. Its global faculty represent the best of almost every facet of the art world, helping students decipher and master the unique forces at play at the intersection of art and commerce.

With campuses in the cultural capitals of London, New York and Los Angeles, Sotheby’s Institute offers graduate level programs that have become more relevant than ever in an art world that is constantly seeking individuals with art historical scholarship and business acumen. Besides Master’s degrees, Sotheby’s Institute offers programs of study such as summer classes, 15-week semester courses, online learning and executive education. Sotheby’s Institute of Art’s programs provide the knowledge and credentials needed to achieve success in today’s worldwide art markets and cultural institutions.

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