Christie’s New York announced the appointment of Mr. Everett Fahy, former chairman of European Paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and former Director of the Frick Collection, as senior consultant to Christie’s Old Masters & 19th Century Art department. Mr. Fahy is widely recognized as one of most distinguished scholars of Italian Renaissance Art, with extensive publications to his credit. In his new role, Mr. Fahy will support the firm’s client relations goals and lend his expertise to the department’s research and cataloguing efforts as part of a 10-person team of specialists based in New York.
Marc Porter, Chairman of Christie’s Americas, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Everett Fahy to Christie’s as he has been for decades the most distinguished and celebrated Old Master scholar in the United States. His service to the public through his long tenure at the Frick and The Metropolitan Museum are legendary, and we are honored that he has decided to continue this tradition through a new association with Christie’s.”
Mr. Fahy commented: “I am pleased to be joining such an exceptional group of colleagues, including Christie’s international directors Nicholas Hall and Richard Knight, whom I have known for many years. Christie’s and the Met have enjoyed a long collegial relationship that was highlighted during my tenure by the Met’s landmark acquisition of the Madonna and Child by Duccio di Buoninsegna. I look forward to continuing the relationship in my new capacity as consulting specialist.”
Until his retirement earlier this year, Mr. Fahy was the John Pope-Hennessy Chairman of the Department of European Paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for 22 years and was named Curator of European Paintings Emeritus in 2009. Prior to his appointment at the Met Museum, he was Director of the Frick Collection for 13 years, where he has served as Director Emeritus since 2005. A frequent writer and lecturer on the topic of Old Master Paintings, Mr. Fahy was previously an Adjunct Professor at New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts from 1970-1976. He holds a master’s degree and Ph.D from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia.
Mr. Fahy’s work has been published extensively in exhibition catalogues and scholarly journals and has authored several books including The Wrightsman Pictures (2005), John Pope-Hennessy: A Bibliography (1986), and The Legacy of Leonardo: Italian Renaissance Paintings from Leningrad (1979). Most recently, he made headlines with the publication of his article “An Overlooked Michelangelo?” which asserts that Francesco Granacci’s Saint John the Baptist Bearing Witness, now in the collection of the Met Museum, is actually the work of Michelangelo.
As a sought-after adviser to major art collections and institutions around the world, Mr. Fahy has served on the Advisory Council to the Collections of the Prince of Liechtenstein (1988-1991), the Board of Advisers for the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery (1990-1992), and Chairman of the Jury for the Mitchell Prize (1985-1990).
The Old Master & 19th Century Art department at Christie’s is unique among the global auction houses in its focus on the full continuum of European art from the 14th to the 19th centuries. Interest in European Paintings of this era has grown steadily in recent years, as new collectors have entered the market and crossed over from more specialized collecting areas. In response to the growing diversity of collector interests, Christie’s had led the market in its move to unify its sales offerings under the banner of Old Master & 19th Century Art, presenting major international sales each year devoted to the very best examples of traditional European art before 1900.
The next sale in this category is June 9, 2010 at Christie’s Rockefeller Center saleroom in New York.
