Sotheby’s appoints senior vice president and vice chairman, Americas.

Sotheby’s has appointed Joshua Holdeman as senior vice president and vice chairman, Americas. “Over the past 20 years, Josh has built an enviable network of clients in numerous collecting categories,” commented Maarten ten Holder, managing director of Sotheby’s Americas. “In his new role in the chairman’s office, Josh will work closely with our specialist community across categories offering 20th Century Art, as well as with our global team of senior executives focused on international business development and client relationships. Having spent a considerable amount of time working in Los Angeles, Josh will also play an important role in the Company’s plans in that region, together with our recently-appointed West Coast Chairman, Andrea Fiuczynski.”

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with a team of professionals of the highest caliber,” said Holdeman. “In this next chapter of my career, I am invigorated by the prospect of working closely with new colleagues, continuing to focus on art and design of the last century while also exploring a number of new initiatives.”

Holdeman began his career at Robert Miller Gallery in New York, which was among the first to simultaneously present Contemporary Art, Photography and 20th Century Design as a part of its program. During his nearly ten-year tenure at the gallery, Holdeman worked with artists and artists’ estates such as The Estate of Joan Mitchell, The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Louise Bourgeois, The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Estate of Diane Arbus and Bruce Weber. He joined Phillips, de Pury & Luxembourg in 2001, where he founded its Photographs Department and oversaw a number of landmark sales, including The Seagram Collection of Photographs in 2003. In 2004, Holdeman began working at Christie’s as International Head of Photographs and 20th Century Design, before moving to the Post-War & Contemporary Department as an International Director and eventually to the Chairman’s Office.  2

During his tenure at Christie’s, Holdeman oversaw the sale of many market-changing events in New York, London and Paris, setting and resetting many world records along the way. He also supervised many single artist sales, including those comprising the work of Robert Mapplethorpe, Diane Arbus, Line Vautrin, Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Robert Frank and William Eggleston.

While Holdeman has always been officially based in New York, he has spent a considerable amount of time in Japan sourcing property for the 20th Century categories, and from 2009 to 2013, he divided his time between Los Angeles and New York, working closely with his colleagues in both Los Angeles and San Francisco on behalf of clients on the West Coast.