The career path leading to Sotheby’s New York with Courtney Kremers, Senior VP and Senior Contemporary Specialist

by leslierankowfinearts

Sotheby’s New York

SOTHEBY’S IS CELEBRATING ITS 275TH ANNIVERSARY BUT IS HARDLY AN OLD FOGEY, DYNAMIC IN ITS EVER INNOVATIVE EXPANSION IN TERMS OF ACQUISITIONS OF NEW COMPANIES, FROM EVERYTHING AS DIVERSE AS THREAD GENIUS, A COMPANY THAT DEVELOPED ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE CLIENT EXPERIENCE BY MATCHING AN OBJECT TO AN INDIVIDUAL’S PREFERENCE AT A CERTAIN PRICE POINT, TO THE MEI MOSES ART INDICES, THEREBY GAINING UNIQUE ACCESS TO AN ANALYTIC TOOL THAT PROVIDES OBJECTIVE AND VERIFIABLE MEASURES OF THE ART MARKET BY TRACKING THE VALUE OF AN OBJECT OVER TIME. IN 2016, SOTHEBY’S BROUGHT SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IN-HOUSE WITH THE ACQUISITION OF ORION ANALYTICAL AND THE APPOINTMENT OF ITS FOUNDER, THE RENOWNED ART WORLD SCIENTIST JAMES MARTIN, KNOWN AS A TOUR DE FORCE IN USING TECHNOLOGY TO UNCOVER NEARLY UNDETECTABLE MISTAKES IN COPIES THAT APPEAR FLAWLESS TO THE NAKED EYE.

New Sothebys Galleries
designed by OMA

THIS SPRING, SOTHEBY’S NEW YORK, IN TIME FOR OUR FORTHCOMING IMPRESSIONIST AND MODERN, POST-WAR AND CONTEMPORARY MAJOR AUCTIONS, OPENED ITS NEW DAZZLING RENOVATION TO THE PUBLIC. ARCHITECT SHIGEMATSU OF OMA, NEW YORK HAS UPDATED THE INTERNATIONAL AUCTION HOUSE’S HEADQUARTERS. THE INCREASED EXHIBITION SPACES, THE MIX OF VARIOUS SHAPED ROOMS, CORRIDORS AND GALLERIES  AND EXPANSION OF PRIVATE SALE VIEWING ROOMS, AS WELL AS  THE CREATION OF A DOUBLE-HEIGHT SPACE ON THE GROUND FLOOR ALL CONTRIBUTE STUNNINGLY TO SOTHEBY’S AMBITION TO BE THE BEST IN A HIGHLY COMPETITIVE ALTHOUGH REMARKABLY SMALL INDUSTRY.

Cecily Brown

SENIOR VP AND SENIOR CONTEMPORARY SPECIALIST, COURTNEY KREMERS, WAS KIND ENOUGH TO PROVIDE A TOUR OF THE NEW GALLERIES AND IT IS WITH GREAT PLEASURE THAT THE LRFA BLOG CONTINUES OUR CHAT.

TODAY, COURTNEY WILL TRACE HER PROFESSIONAL PATH FROM UNIVERSITY ACADEMICIAN TO SOTHEBY SPECIALIST WITH A HISTORY OF HER ART WORLD EXPERIENCE PRIOR TO JOINING THEIR RANKS.

WELCOME!

COURTNEY, DO YOU THINK THESE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS HAVE BEEN PUT TO GOOD USE IN THE WORK YOU DO TODAY, AS AN AUCTION SPECIALIST AND, IF SO, HOW?

There were plenty of confused parents when I said I was getting an Art History degree (from Duke). They would ask, perplexed, “Well what will you do with that?” A kid growing up in NYC probably received a different reaction, but in Frederick, where no one knew anyone who worked in the art world, I think they thought I was wasting a good college education. I feel very lucky that my undergrad/grad time was a precursor to what I do on a daily basis now. As a Specialist, I am constantly researching art works, analyzing importance, condition, etc. My job now involves an assessment of value, which wasn’t part of my formal education, but it is certainly an extension of it.  

Kerry James Marshall

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB IN THE ART WORLD?  WHAT WERE THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSONS YOU LEARNED THERE?

My first job out of college was working for the Mugrabi Collection. I had no idea who they were. I remember trying to Google them before the interview. In the first week, both Tobias Meyer and Larry Gagosian called. I answered the phone, and asking if they could spell their last names for me please almost ended my employment. 

The Mugrabi family taught me a lot, and they still do. They are tough businessmen who know their markets cold. If someone thinks the price they are quoting is too high, they will pull out five auction catalogues in which comparable works were sold and walk you through each result, and how that example stacks up to theirs and also where the markets were then/now. And for artists where they see future growth, they are more than happy to hold their position, and their asking prices, and wait for everyone else to catch up.  

Mark Rothko

THE MUGRABI FAMILY IS KNOWN AS MARKET MOVERS, TAKING MAJOR POSITIONS ON ARTISTS SUCH AS JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT AND DAMIEN HIRST. THE VALUE OF THEIR COLLECTION, WHICH INCLUDES THE LAREST PRIVATE CACHE OF WORKS BY ANDY WARHOL, HAS BEEN ESTIMATED AT OVER $100 MILLION.

WHAT WERE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES AT THE MUGRABI COLLECTION?  WHAT ASPECTS OF THE JOB WERE THE MOST REWARDING?

Day one through Day 365, I did a lot of answering the phone and fixing the printer, but also, noting auction prices in the catalogues, creating fact sheets for new acquisitions, and providing clients with research, images, etc. for works under discussion. My responsibilities grew. The Mugrabis were incredibly generous in opening doors, and encouraging me to attend gallery openings, dinners, and art fairs on their behalf. When we loaned works to a Basquiat exhibition in Rome, I flew over to make sure the installation was as promised. For a 22 year old, new to New York, and new to the art world, it was all pretty thrilling. Looking back now, probably nothing was more impactful than meeting the artists who would come in for lunch, and the artworks that would come and go from the walls.

WHAT WONDERFUL TRAINING FOR THE TIME AHEAD!

IN OUR NEXT LRFA BLOG, COURTNEY WILL GIVE US HER VERY INFORMED RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT COLLECTING ART!

PLEASE JOIN US!

Christopher Wool

NB The artworks featured in today’s LRFA blog post are lots in the forthcoming Contemporary Evening Auction on May 16th at their New York headquarters at 1334 York Avenue.