The art industry comprises an incredibly diverse tapestry of experts in all sorts of professions. The ARTnews Top Art World Professionals list (alphabetical and not ranked) focuses on the leaders in 12 categories within the United States, the largest single national market for art. (For more information on some of the professionals, read ARTnews’s 2023 edition of the list.)
Advisers and Advisory Firms
Advisers maintain extensive Rolodexes that may provide access to highly desirable works; they offer clients a plethora of services in building and managing art collections, including estate planning, appraisal, and ongoing oversight.
Abigail Asher, New York
Aileen Agopian, New York
Art Intelligence Global, New York and Hong Kong
Artsource Consulting, New York
Erica Barrish, New York
Victoria Burns, New York and Los Angeles
Eleanor Cayre, New York
Wendy Cromwell, New York
Beaumont Nathan, New York and London
Ralph DeLuca, New York
Andrea Feldman Falcione, Los Angeles
Elizabeth Fiore, New York
Gagosian Art Advisory, New York
Patti Gilford, Chicago
Benjamin Godsill, New York
Gould Art Advisory, Florida
Adam Green, Dallas
Sandy Heller, New York
Megan Fox Kelly, New York
Jacob King, New York
Laura Lester, Chicago
Levin Art Group, New York
LK Art Consultants, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago
LSS Art Advisory, San Francisco
Mireille Mosler, New York
Melanie Ouyang Lum, Los Angeles and Shanghai
Esthella Provas & Associates, Beverly Hills, California
Ruth | Catone | Goulding, New York
Schwartzman&, New York
Chrissie Shearman, New York
Sokoloff + Associates, New York
Irina Stark, Los Angeles
Courtney Strimple Colman, New York
Laura Smith Sweeney, San Francisco
Elizabeth Szancer, New York
Rob Teeters, New York and Dallas
Cristin Tierney, New York
Tanja Weingärtner, New York
Zlot Buell + Associates, San Francisco
Sharón Zoldan, Los Angeles and Luxembourg
All-in-One Logistics
These companies can serve as a single point of contact for shipping, storage, and handling needs.
Acumen International
Atelier 4
Atthowe Fine Art Services
Crozier
Dietl International Services
Mana Fine Arts
SRI Fine Art Services
UOVO
Banking
Banks are essential in helping develop art collections. Traditional borrowing can be cumbersome, but some institutions will lend to collectors solely on the value of their art holdings.
Athena Art Finance
Bank of America
Citi
East West Bank
JP Morgan Chase
TPC Art Finance
Conservators
Conservators may repair damage, but their job is ultimately to understand an artwork: how it was made, the materials that constitute it, and how to preserve it.
ACdR Art Conservationde Rigueur, San Francisco
Amann + Estabrook, New York
ArtCare Conservation, New York
The Better Image, New Jersey, New York, and California
The Conservation Center, Chicago
Corey d’Augustine, New York
Fine Art Conservation Group, New York
Modern Art Conservation, New York
New York Art Conservation
Paper Conservation Studio, New York
Preservation Arts, Oakland, California
Gloria Velandia Ludmer, New York
Whitten & Proctor, Houston
Wilson Conservation, New York
Fabricators
Artists rely on them to execute ideas in any number of mediums. For collectors, they may help realize a major commission or provide assistance in restoring or displaying a work.
Let There Be Neon, New York
Lippincott’s, Connecticut
Lite Brite Neon, Brooklyn and Kingston, New York
Milgo/Bufkin, New York
Modern Art Foundry, New York
Powerhouse Arts, New York
Prototype, New York
Standard Sculpture, Hudson, New York
Walla Walla Foundry, Walla Walla, Washington
Framers
It might be easy to overlook a frame when it’s subtle, but the right frame can have tremendous impact on an artwork’s presentation.
24 FPS, Dallas
APF-Munn Master FrameMakers, New York
Bark Frameworks, New York
Baobab Frames & Art Services, New York
Downing, New York
Drummond Framing, New York
East Frames, New York
Lowy, New York
Minagawa Art Lines, New York
Professional Fine ArtServices (PFAS Inc.), Los Angeles
PSG Framing, Boston
Robinson and Reeves, Miami
Small Works, San Francisco
Sterling Art Services, Oakland, California
Debra Stevens, Dallas
Vineyard Frame Designs, Dallas
Freeport Locations
Collectors who want to keep their treasures away from regulators’ invasive eyes often turn to freeports.
ARCIS, New York
Bayshore, Delaware
Delaware Freeport
Insurance Carriers and Brokerages
Art insurance is an everyday matter for those with valuable collections they must protect against mishaps large and small, including weather-related disasters resulting from climate change, theft, loss, and damage.
AXA XL
Huntington T. Block
Chubb
Driesassur
Gallagher
Lloyd’s
Risk Strategies
Lawyers
Art lawyers can fix messes when they happen, but the best ones minimize the risk of their ever developing. Many large law firms have their own art law divisions, reflecting the importance of these highly skilled professionals.
Jo Backer Laird (at Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler)
David R. Baum
John Cahill (of ARTxLAW)
Gregory A. Clarick (of Clarick, Gueron, Reisbaum)
Danziger, Danziger & Muro
Judd Grossman
Wendy J. Lindstrom (of Mazzola Lindstrom)
Frank K. Lord IV
Daniel McClean (at Cypress LLP)
Luke Nikas (of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan)
Kaye Spiegler
Thaddeus J. Stauber (at Nixon Peabody)
Silberman Zaretsky
Christine Steiner
Stout, Thomas & Johnson, New York
Diana Wierbicki (at Withersworldwide)
Photographers/Videographers
No gallery could operate without photographers and videographers.
Thomas R. DuBrock
Tom Powel Imaging
SandenWolff
Michael Tropea
Joshua White
Shipping
Shipping companies help customers manage matters like taxes, security, customs and duties, and import and export regulations as artworks move internationally among the burgeoning number of museums and events.
ANR Transport Fine ArtServices, Houston
Cooke’s Crating and Fine ArtTransportation
Maquette Fine Art Services
Masterpiece International
Welpak
U.S.Art
Storage
Top museums and collectors often display only a fraction of their holdings. The rest has to go somewhere, and that’s where secure climate-controlled storage comes in.
Artemis
The Box Company
Icon Fine Arts Services
Minnesota Street ProjectArt Services
Cooke’s Crating and Fine ArtTransportation
A version of this article appears in the 2024 ARTnews Top 200 Collectors issue.
