20th Century Decorative Art & Design

Philippe Garner

International Department Head
London

With a career spanning over thirty years in auction houses, Mr. Garner is responsible for developing long-term business strategies and cultivating Christie’s relationships with collectors, clients and museums. In 1971 he was instrumental in introducing photographs to auction, when he catalogued and coordinated the first ground breaking sale. Mr. Garner was also crucial in expanding the field of 20th Century Decorative Arts & Design. He has directed a variety of prestigious sales, including The Art Nouveau and Art Deco Collection of Elton John (London, 1988); the Ritman Collection of Fine Art Nouveau & Symbolist Jewels (Geneva, 1995); and The Seagram Collection of Photographs (New York, 2003). Mr. Garner has published numerous books, articles and essays on decorative arts, design and photography. He has curated a number of museum exhibitions at locations such as the Hôtel de Sully in Paris and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

Sonja Ganne

European Head
International Specialist
Paris

Since joining Christie's in 1997, Sonja Ganne has made her mark on Christie's sales on both sides of the Atlantic. Working closely with her colleagues in London and New York, she was instrumental in the consignment of a shagreen cabinet by André Groult, which sold for £278,750 (London, 2001); a notable private collection of 30 pieces of furniture by Pierre Chareau, which realized £751,273 (London, 2001); and a cabinet by Ruhlmann from a private collection that fetched $336,000 (New York, 2000). Ms. Ganne brings to Christie's invaluable experience in 20th century decorative arts. Coming from a gallery, she compares working at Christie's with an exciting treasure hunt that begins with the discovery of an object and ends in the saleroom.

Marcel Brouwer

Department Head
Amsterdam

Marcel Brouwer joined Christie’s in 1999 to assume overall responsibility as department head of 20th Century Decorative Arts and Design. Under his leadership, Christie’s achieved a number of auction records, including €69,310 (£47,300) for the Steltman chair by Gerrit Rietveld (2004). Further sale highlights include the Herman Dommisse Collection, the Collection of the Thonet Museum Frankenberg, and property from the estate of legendary Dutch photographer Paul Huf. Mr. Brouwer who holds degrees in Art History from Holland’s prestigious Universities of Utrecht and Leiden, began his career in the art world working for the Boijmans van Beuningen Museum at Rotterdam. He is the author of a book about Cris Agterberg who was also the subject of an exhibition at the Centraal Museum in Utrecht, while his articles on design and designers have appeared in numerous international publications.

Simon Andrews

Senior Specialist,
London

After having worked for four years as a modern designer dealer and furniture restorer in Chicago, Mr. Andrews returned to Britain to join Christie’s South Kensington in 1994. Under his direction, Christie’s initiated the first sales of Modern Design in 1996. Over successive years this market was developed into over thirty specialist sales, to include themes as broad as Italian Design (1998, 1999), Scandinavian Design (1999, 2000), and Modernism (1999). In additional to these ground-breaking sales, Mr. Andrews organised the auction of the Carlo Mollino archive (2000), the record-breaking sale of a Private Collection of Finnish Design (2001), and co-ordinated the first ever multi-media sale devoted to Pop Art (2004). In 2002 Mr Andrews assisted with the preparation and sale of Designed by Architects – Important works by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, resulting in the record-setting £900,000 sale of the Mackintosh 1904 Hill House writing cabinet (2002).

Mr Andrews has co-authored several books on Art Deco furniture and Modern Design, and has had numerous articles published, to include reviews of the work of furniture designer Ernest Race, the design team of Robin and Lucienne Day, the history of London’s 1934 Isokon building, and the work of Carlo Mollino. Since 1998 Mr Andrews has programmed and delivered lectures for Christie’s Education, the Bard Institute in New York, and Copenhagen’s Kunstindustriemuseum. Mr Andrews is a Design specialist for BBC television’s 20th Century Antiques Roadshow.

Joy McCall

Department Head
London, South Kensington

Joy McCall joined Christie's in 2003 following a longtime career in the decorative arts department of another London auction house and was named Department Head of 20th Century Decorative Art & Design in 2008. Under her leadership, the department has seen spectacular sales highlighted by two historic auctions in 2004 -- the Poole Pottery Museum and Archive, which realised £212,700; and the Harry Lyons Collection, which fetched £230,545.

Joy acted as a consulting editor for the Miller's Art Nouveau and Art Deco Price Guide and the Miller's Glass Price Guide, and played an important role in the compilation of the Miller's Glass Antique Checklist. She has appeared on BBC Breakfast discussing a James Dixon and Son teapot designed by Christopher Dresser, which subsequently sold for £95,000 (2004).

Joy has a degree in the History of Art with Ancient History from the University of Leicester and holds a masters degree from the University of Sussex where she studied British Art History and Critical Theory.

Joshua Holdeman

International Director, Americas

Since 2006, Josh Holdeman has been a Senior Vice President in the Post-War & Contemporary Art, Photographs and 20th Century Decorative Art & Design departments. In this role and in partnership with Philippe Garner, he has helped make Christie’s a force in photography and 20th century art. During his tenure, Christie’s introduced several new artists to the auction market and established world auction records for many important artists, including Prouvé, Mollino, Bugatti, Penn, Eggelston and Horst. His keen eye and incredible enthusiasm for art of the 20th century, be it photographs, design, fine art or architecture, have made him a trusted advisor to collectors around the world.

Prior to joining Christie’s, Mr. Holdeman was the International Director of Photographs at another major auction house. He spent nearly 10 years as an associate at contemporary art gallery Robert Miller, and was named Head of their Photography Department in 1999.

Mr. Holdeman earned both his Art History B.A. and Painting B.F.A. from Bates College in Maine.

Carolyn Pastel

Associate Specialist
New York

As an associate specialist in Christie’s 20th Century Decorative Art & Design department and head of sale for the mid-season sales, Carolyn Pastel is responsible for business getting, researching and cataloguing. She is additionally responsible for organizing and overseeing all aspects of the mid-season sales, scheduled each March and September.

Since joining Christie’s in 2003, Ms. Pastel has facilitated several major sales including the record-breaking collection of French Mid-Century Design offered in December 2005.

Ms. Pastel earned a Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude from Amherst College and a certificate in Arts Administration from New York University.

Jeni Sandberg

Senior Specialist
New York

Jeni Sandberg is responsible for business-getting and coordinating the department’s annual auction of works by Tiffany Studios as well as gathering a broader range of property for the department's sales of Important 20th Century Decorative Art & Design. Prior to joining Christie’s, she was a research assistant in the American Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the director of American Furniture and Decorative Arts at another major auction house in New York.

Ms. Sandberg holds a bachelor’s degree from New York University, a master’s degree in Architectural History from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in the History of Decorative Arts from The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. She has contributed to a number of trade publications such as The Magazine Antiques and was the recipient of a fellowship in 1996 for research at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum.

Carina Villinger

Senior Specialist
New York

Carina Villinger brings to her role extensive international experience in business getting, researching and cataloguing. Prior to joining Christie’s, Ms. Villinger worked as a specialist for other major auction houses in London and New York. Ms. Villinger began her career in the decorative arts and design world at the Vitra Design Museum in Germany, where she co-curated the touring exhibition Mies van der Rohe: Buildings and Furniture.

Ms. Villinger is widely published and has a pertinent journalistic background; she was a contributing editor at Art & Auction, an editor in the art market section of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, as well as a regular contributor to the Architectural Digest. She completed Christie’s Fine and Decorative Arts course in London and holds a degree in economics from Germany.

Jamie Krass

Senior Vice President, Director, 20th Century Art and Photographs
New York

As Director of 20th Century Art and Photographs at Christie’s, Mr. Krass is responsible for client development, business-getting and market expansion within these two fast-paced, cutting edge areas of the art business. As well as leading these teams, Mr. Krass holds a unique position in the art world, linking myriad century collections to modern tastes and sensibilities.

Jamie, who holds a B.A in Art History from Hobart College, joined Christie’s in 1995. He is a renowned auctioneer, having sold many of the firm’s highest profile sales, and his work has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and Newsweek.

Dan Tolson

Specialist
London

Dan Tolson joined Christie’s in 2003, following six years with another London-based international auction house where he established their department of Modern Design.

Working closely with his international colleagues Dan has been instrumental in the consignment of a number of leading works including Ballets Russes by sculptor Demetre Chiparus which achieved £192,500 (London, 2008), an important ebony bergere by designer Paul Iribe which sold for €168,250 (Paris, 2007) and a rare Aux Muguet vase by Emile Gallé which realized £72,000 (London, 2006).

Mr. Tolson has regularly contributed articles for the US publication Modernism and has been the subject of a profile feature in The Independent weekend magazine. Dan has a degree in the History of Design from Manchester University and holds a post-graduate Diploma in Decorative Arts from the University of Glasgow.

Fiona Baker

Specialist
London

Fiona Baker comes to Christie's with over 25 years experience in 20th Century Decorative Arts, beginning at another London-based auction house, followed by 3 years with the renowned London dealer, John Jesse.

Fiona co-authored 20th Century Furniture (Carlton Books, 2000) with her husband, Keith Baker, and has contributed expertise and articles for various publishers and publications such as Marshal Publishing, Mitchell Beazley, and The Antique Collectors Club. She has also appeared on the Channel 4 programme Collectors Lot, as well as the BBC's Going for a Song, the Gloria Hunniford Show on Radio 2, and was a judge for the BACA awards. Fiona is a graduate of Cambridge University.