International auction house Bonhams has named an Aboriginal art expert as its new director in Australia.
Merryn Schriever has been appointed director of Bonhams auction house, making her the only woman running an art auction business in Australia, the firm said in a media release.
Schriever, who will be based in Sydney, joined Bonhams as senior art specialist in 2013, and recently curated the highly successful sale of Australian and Aboriginal art.
Rival firms Sotheby’s Australia, Menzies, Leonard Joel, Mossgreen and Deutscher and Hackett are all run by men.
Aboriginal Art Specialist
From 2001, she gained extensive commercial experience in the Australian art market, working in both the primary market with a leading Australian gallery and following that, in business development for the Art Gallery of New South Wales.
In 2008, Schriever moved into the art auction world, and worked for Deutscher and Hackett as an art specialist in both Australian and Aboriginal Art before joining Bonhams.
«Merryn's proven track record – as evidenced by the superb result for our June sale – makes her the perfect fit to assume the leadership for Bonhams in Australia. Bonhams remains committed to holding sales in Sydney and I know that Merryn will continue to build upon our success,» said Matthew Girling, Global CEO of Bonhams.
