The Directors of Bonhams, international fine arts auctioneers, are pleased to announce the appointment of Amy J. Lawch, G.G. as the firm’s Regional Representative for Houston, Texas. As Regional Representative, Ms. Lawch, an Accredited Appraiser certified by the International Society of Appraisers, will be the liaison between the auctioneers and Houston Area art and antiques collectors, museums and institutions, members of the innovative Houston design community, and the Texas Trust & Estates community.
“We’re pleased to have Amy Lawch join Bonhams & Butterfields’ network of US regional representatives. Her incredible experience in the auction industry will enable Bonhams to serve the varied needs of Houston-based collectors and important institutions throughout the state,” said V.P. Leslie Wright, Director of the auctioneer’s Trust & Estates Dept.
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world’s oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The London-based firm operates salesrooms in four North American cities: Bonhams & Butterfields in San Francisco and Los Angeles, Bonhams in New York City and Bonhams Canada in Toronto. Ms. Lawch will bring the wide variety of specialists from those locations to Houston for a number of events, while sourcing local jewelry, art and antiques for Bonhams’ auctions in the US and London.
Over the past 15-years, Ms. Lawch has thrived within the auction industry, serving as representative for both Ivey-Selkirk Auctioneers where she arranged the sale of renowned Texas oil man Michel Halbouty’s personal property, as well as with Phillips Auctioneers, contributing to their marketing plans and sourcing property for their sales. She discovered in Oklahoma and sold through Phillips the long-lost piano painted by Arts and Craft’s artist Phoebe Ann Traquair (sold to the National Edinburgh Museum, where it sits in the main room in honor of Traquair’s work in Scotland). She is president of A. A. Benjamin Ltd., a jewelry and appraising business.
Ms. Lawch earned an MBA in Finance from the University of Houston and a B.A. in English from Northwestern University. She has completed specialized training in a number of areas and has lectured extensively, nationally and internationally, on collecting and selling fine jewelry and antiques, including at the Antique Period Jewelry and Gemstone Conference aka “Jewelry Camp.”
Well-known in the business arena as an international banker, Ms. Lawch moved into the world of jewelry and auctions in 1994 becoming a G.I.A. Graduate Gemologist. She is a member of multiple professional organizations relating to the jewelry industry, including: the American Society of Jewelry Historians, the Jewelers of America, and the Texas Jewelers Association. She is a supporting member of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Guild and the Houston Ballet Guild. She is actively involved in The Professional Group, Federation Internationale des Confreres Bachiques and Professional Women of Wine. She served on the Board of Directors for the Northwestern University Alumni Association, and the Japan America Society. She was the Houston representative for Sister Cities International in the early 1980s and has resided in Japan, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.
www.bonhams.com/houston