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Auction PR Publicity Announcements News and Information

Bonhams New York Appoints Director for Japanese Art Department

Bonhams is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Jeffrey Olson as Director of the Japanese Works of Art Department for their New York galleries.

Olson began amassing his knowledge of Japanese art at Columbia University (New York). During this time he spent one year at the Kyoto Center for Japanese Studies conducting in-depth research in18th-century painting. Upon graduating “magna cum laude” from Columbia’s highly competitive program with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Japanese Art History, Olson joined the Japanese Department at Christie’s New York.

Prior to joining Bonhams, Olson held the role of Vice President, Specialist in Japanese Art at Christie’s with a focus on paintings, Buddhist art, arms and armor, ceramics, lacquer and decorative arts. During his ten years at Christie’s, Olson was instrumental in bringing to sale several important collections of Japanese art including An Important Collection of Ukiyo-e Paintings; Important Swords from the Japanese Museum of Sword Fittings, parts I and II; An Important Collection of Japanese Ceramics; Property from the Collection of Governor and Mrs. Nelson A. Rockefeller; and Property from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

“We are delighted to have Jeffrey join us as part of our global team,” says Dessa Goddard, Vice President and Director of Asian Art, Bonhams North America. “Building on our long-term roots in this field, we also recently hired senior staff from Sothebys – Senior Consultant Neil Davey, and Suzannah Yip, now Director of Bonhams Japanese Art in London – when Sotheby’s closed their Japanese Department worldwide. We are now the only international auction house actively growing our department to make Japanese art a major focus of our business. Bonhams now supports the largest staff of internationally renowned specialists in Japanese art in the industry, based in our London, New York and San Francisco offices. Adding Jeff to our roster solidifies our commitment to fostering the growth of this important field in New York.”

Mr. Olson comments “I am very excited to have the chance to work with the first-rate team of specialists in Japanese art at Bonhams. I look forward to both the challenges and the opportunities that the Japanese art market presents us today, and together with our international team, will work to further develop and renew interest in Japanese art world wide.”

http://www.bonhams.com/newyork