July 5, 2017, New York, NY—Christine Kuan, Director and CEO, Sotheby’s Institute of Art-New York announced the appointment of Ann-Marie Richard as Director of the MA program for Fine and Decorative Art and Design in New York. Ms. Richard has been teaching at Sotheby’s Institute since 2012, and as the program’s director she brings extensive expertise and professional accomplishments around connoisseurship, collecting, conservation, provenance, emerging markets, and the related subtleties of art and decorative arts in an international market.
Kuan says, “Our graduate students will benefit enormously from Ms. Richard leading this renowned graduate program at Sotheby’s Institute of Art-New York. She possesses a rare combination of academic expertise combined with art market acumen. These are precisely the professional and educational elements that will have a direct impact on advancing our students’ future careers in the fields of decorative art and design.”
"[Ann-Marie Richard] possesses a rare combination of academic expertise combined with art market acumen."
Ms. Richard stated, “As an alumna of Sotheby’s Institute with a career anchored in international art business I am well versed in the necessary requirements for a successful future as a professional navigating the global art market. Teaching at the Institute has been an enriching experience and I look forward to mentoring the next generation of alumni.”
Before this appointment, Ms. Richard was Executive Vice President of Gurr Johns, International, an advisory firm with globally recognized expertise in valuations and appraisal, among other areas. In this role she served as the senior contemporary art and design specialist, art asset manager, review appraiser, content innovator, and signatory officer. Additionally, she contributed to advancement in business development, planned private treaty sales, and edited their annual art market research reports.
Prior to Gurr Johns, Ms. Richard was Collection Manager at The John Brademas Center for the Study of Congress at NYU, Senior Fine Art, Decorative Arts, and Design Specialist at O’Toole-Ewald Associates, and the Founding Director of A.M. Richard Fine Art Gallery in Brooklyn, NY. She has worked with prominent art foundations and collections, and significant artist trusts and estates. Ms. Richards has consulted extensively with leading legal firms, financial institutions and loan offices, insurance companies, and art conservators.
Ms. Richard’s specialization in international decorative arts and design includes Asian decorative arts, American fine and decorative arts, and contemporary design. She holds degrees from Parsons School of Design/Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Parsons School of Design-Paris, and Sotheby’s Institute of Art-London. Her professional accreditations include certified membership to the Appraisers Association of America and compliancy to USPAP (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice).
Ms. Richard’s long and esteemed track record extends into the academic sector as well. She has been teaching at Sotheby’s Institute of Art since 2012, and from 2005-2007 taught at the Fashion Institute of Technology School of Graduate Studies as well as the Restoration Department.
She has been a guest speaker at the Wharton Business School, the International Society of Appraisers, New York University’s Art Law Day, Pratt Institute, Pace University, the American Association of Museums, and the University of Kentucky. She has also served as art juror and vetted for the Winter Antiques Show and Antique Garden Furniture Show at the New York Botanical Garden, among others.
Ms. Richard is the recipient of awards and grants including: Helena Rubinstein Scholarship, Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum Lisa Taylor Fellowship to the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (UK), and the American Ceramic Circle Study Grant.