Bonhams appoints prints and photography specialist in New York
Heather Russell image courtesy of Bonhams
Bonhams is expanding both the Prints and Photography departments in the United States with the appointment of Heather Russell and Shawna Brickley in New York.
Russell, who will lead the department, joins the Bonhams team with over 15 years of industry experience in private sales and client services. She has previously held the post of manager of private client development at an international auction house, assistant director at James Cohan Gallery, both in New York; and owner of a contemporary art gallery in Richmond, VA.
She was most recently a senior specialist of Post-War and Contemporary Art at a major online auction platform, having initially been recruited to spearhead the Contemporary Asian Art auction that focused on Contemporary Chinese, Japanese and Korean Photographs and Prints. She is also a published author and writer, and holds an MA in Art History from the University of Arizona and a PhD in Art History from New York University.
Shawna Brickley will take on the role of senior specialist. She is a Harvard graduate with a Masters in Museum Studies and Art Conservation. Prior to joining Bonhams, Shawna worked in the Works on Paper department at a New York based auction house for more than a decade. She then joined the aforementioned online auction platform to head their Department of Modern & Impressionist Art, where she met Russell.
“I am honored to be a part of the stellar Bonhams team and I look forward to making the Print and Photography sales in New York truly exceptional,” said Heather, whose specialty is postwar and contemporary prints and photography. Shawna’s area of focus covers contemporary prints as well, in addition to modern.
The duo has already begun securing consignments for the December 17th themed photography sale, which will feature 20th century photographic works, titled, “The Art of Fashion Photography”- a fitting theme given the sale’s fashionable location. Plans for a Modern & Contemporary Prints sale to be held on February 25 in 2015 are in the pipeline. In the meantime, Heather and Shawna will be conducting prints and photography appraisals in September of this year.
CEO, Patrick Meade, commented: “We are excited to have Heather and Shawna join the Bonhams team. Their expertise in Prints and Photographs, and the online sales environment is invaluable, and we look forward to developing these categories here at Bonhams.”