The appointments mean that Sotheby’s now have a quartet heading their European operations with Newman joining fellow European chairmen Oliver Barker, Mario Tavella and Philipp Württemberg.
The changes at the top of Sotheby’s Europe follow the departures of Henry Wyndham and Melanie Clore who were co-chairmen of the organisation from January 2011 until they left the company earlier this year. It emerged last week that the former Sotheby’s colleagues are now setting up their own fine art company with a launch date set for September.
Experienced Hand
Like Wyndham and Clore, Newman has been a long-term Sotheby’s staffer. She joined the firm in 1988 and rose through the Impressionist and Modern art department into her current leadership role.
She replaced Wyndham on the rostrum for the Imps & Mods evening sale on June 21 – the first time a woman had taken an evening sale since 1990.
Sotheby’s managing director for Europe, Maarten ten Holder, said: “I am thrilled to see Helena take on this additional position at the helm of our European organisation. She will bring to the role as chairman not only the experience of 28 highly successful years at Sotheby’s, but also an unparalleled depth of expertise and relationships in the field of Impressionist and Modern Art, where she has been key, both to our long-standing leadership in the field and to many historic moments and landmark sales.”
Newman, who is based in London, continues as co-head of Impressionist and Modern art worldwide alongside her New York-based colleague, Simon Shaw.
