It’s not a secret that Christie’s Impressionist and Modern department has had a run of disappointing sales these last few years. Today it was announced that reinforcements have already arrived in Derek Gillman, the former president of the Barnes Foundation, who will help Christie’s Brooke Lampley steer a smoother course. Lampley remains at the helm but Gillman is there to help get business in the door:

Christie’s New York announces the appointment of Derek Gillman to the new role of Chairman, Impressionist & Modern Art, SVP, The Americas.  The former Executive Director and President of the Barnes Foundation began on January 5^th, 2015.

Mr. Gillman is based in New York and will work very closely with Giovanna Bertazzoni, International Head of Impressionist & Modern Art and Brooke Lampley, International Director, Impressionist & Modern Art, and their team of specialists.  Tapping his deep experience and wide network ofrelationships, Gillman will nurture client relationships and support business strategy around the world for the department.  In this role, Gillman will report directly to Marc Porter, Chairman, Christie’s Americas.

Gillman brings to Christie’s a wealth of knowledge and experience.  He has overseen distinguished collections of 19^th and 20^th century art on three continents, beginning in 1985 with the exceptional representation of Giacometti, Bacon and Moore at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts.  Most recently, from 2006-2013, he stewarded the Barnes Foundation’s celebrated holdings of Cézanne, Renoir, van Gogh, Seurat, early Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani and Soutine to a new home in central Philadelphia.