BIOGRAPHY

Sarah Vandeweerdt was appointed the Head of Estates, Appraisals & Valuations in July 2013. In this role, Mrs. Vandeweerdt is responsible for overseeing the management of all the valuations produced by Christie’s Americas and managing the Estates, Appraisals & Valuations team in New York. In addition, Mrs. Vandeweerdt works in conjunction with the Business Director on department strategy, staff structures, training programs, financial proposals and business development initiatives. Prior to her 2013 appointment, Mrs. Vandeweerdt was Senior Vice President, Appraisals Director for the department. Sarah Vandeweerdt joined Christie’s in 2000 as a senior account manager in the Estates, Appraisals and Valuations department and was appointed a Senior Vice President in 2008. In this role, Mrs. Vandeweerdt assisted estate, institutional and private clients with Christie’s appraisal and consignment services as well as developed relationships with advisors and fiduciaries in the banking and legal community. Mrs. Vandeweerdt has been instrumental in the successful sale of several important collections at Christie’s including the 2008 single-owner sales of Impressionist, Modern and Post War Art from the Hillman Family Collection and the Estate of Alice Lawrence. She also facilitated a single-owner sale of fine and decorative art in 2007 from the Collection of Maria Felix, the acclaimed Mexican film actress. Mrs. Vandeweerdt has over eighteen years of experience in the auction world. She received a bachelor’s degree in art history at The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. and a master’s degree in fine and decorative arts from the Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London.

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Mark Wrey began his career at Christie’s King Street in 1974 where he worked for 18 years in the Press, PR and Marketing departments, becoming Marketing Director in 1986. Highlights among his many exciting projects at this time were the amazing £10m Nanking Cargo Shipwreck Sale and the sale of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, which was a landmark sale; this was the first picture to sell for more than £10m when it sold for £22.5m in 1987. Mark then took responsibility in 1992 for Christie’s interests in the South of England. This involved looking after clients’ needs, providing valuations and selections for sale. The culmination of this period were the sales which he orchestrated from Cowdray Park, involving all specialist art departments as well as advice from the Valuations and Heritage & Taxation departments. This extensive project culminated in some exceptional sales. Mark has been a Senior Director in the UK Chairman’s Office and took on the role of Head of Estates , Appraisals and Valuations EMERI department in 2012. He travels extensively and greatly enjoys the vast variety of objects, collections and clients that he encounters every week.

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Bonnie Brennan is the Deputy Chairman, Head of Trusts, Estates & Wealth Management Services for Christie’s Americas. Ms. Brennan joined Christie’s in 2012 with 15 years of experience in the auction business. She brings a history of successes in client development and strong relationships across the Trusts & Estates community. Since joining the Christie’s team, she has played a key role in securing notable consignments for Christie’s major sales of Impressionist and Modern Art, Post-War and Contemporary Art and American Paintings. Prior to her current role, Ms. Brennan worked as a Senior Vice President, Business Development Officer for another major international auction house, where she specialized in the area of Trusts and Estates. She gained a solid reputation as a team player and had a long history of success in assisting professional fiduciaries and private clients with the disposition of personal property through both public auction and private sales. Ms. Brennan was also responsible for developing effective and compelling sale and marketing strategies for consignments at the highest levels. Ms. Brennan is a graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she was a double-major in Art History and Communications. Ms. Brennan is a member of Board of Trustees for Cristo Rey New York High School and she serves as an active member on the Professional Advisors Council for Calvary Hospital, The Professional Advisory Council for the American Friends of the Israel Museum and the Planned Giving Advisory Council for the New York Historical Society.

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Prior to joining Christie’s, Ruth Cornett worked as a tax advisor in a number of professional firms in the City and the West End of London. After training as an art historian and working as a curator in the V&A, Ruth changed careers in 1992, studying law and qualifying as a Chartered Tax Advisor in 1998. Ruth has advised a broad spectrum of clients on a range of tax matters with a particular emphasis on capital gains tax, inheritance tax and income tax. To consolidate her expertise in these areas, Ruth qualified as a Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) in 2008. Ruth also serves as an Observer on the Historic Houses Association (HHA) Tax and Political Committee.

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