Photographs

Philippe Garner

International Director
London, King Street

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.

Yuka Yamaji

Department Head
London, King Street

Yuka Yamaji began her career at Christie's Los Angeles in 2000, where she oversaw the first Photographs auction since 1998, then joined the London Photographs Department in 2002. Leading the London team since May 2004, Ms. Yamaji is responsible for bi-annual sales at King Street and South Kensington. In May 2006, she organized the most successful various-owner Photographs sale to date in London which was 99% sold, totaled £2.3 million and established a world record price for a Man Ray Rayograph at auction. During her tenure, Ms. Yamaji has contributed to auctions at various salerooms on both sides of the Atlantic, including Los Angeles, New York, London and Paris.

Ms. Yamaji holds an MA in Art History from Tufts University and a BA in Art History and French Language & Literature from Smith College.

Penelope Malakates

Specialist
London, King Street

Penelope Malakates is responsible for cataloguing four London photographs sales a year at King Street and South Kensington. In addition, she handles all estimate requests and insurance valuations for the department.

Penelope began her career in 2003 at another major auction house in New York, joining Christie's in 2005. She has been based in London as Junior Specialist since January 2007.

Penelope holds a BA in Art History from Bates College with a focus on contemporary art and photography.

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.

Stuart Alexander

Senior Specialist
New York

Leading the New York specialist team, Stuart Alexander brings to this role over thirty years of experience in photography beginning in museums, most notably at the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona where he earned his M.A. in Art History. As an independent curator and scholar based in Paris, then New York, he published widely and organized numerous exhibitions with major international publishers, collections and museums.

Recognized as the leading authority on the work of Brassaï and Robert Frank, his expertise has been instrumental in such successful sales as Photographies: Collection Claude Berri (Paris, 2005) and Important Photographs from a Private American Collection (New York, 2007) among others. Adept at working internationally, Stuart has been instrumental in establishing world auction records for Man Ray, Robert Frank and Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Laura Paterson

Specialist
New York

Laura Paterson, who joined Christie's in 1994, is responsible for appraisals and estimating photographic works for auctions, creating and editing sales catalogues, and coordinating the department's various sales.

Ms. Paterson is a native of the United Kingdom and prior to joining Christie's New York, she worked at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, and the University of Edinburgh. Ms. Paterson earned a Master of Arts degree in Art History in 1982 and a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management in 1990, both from the University of Edinburgh.

Sarah Shepard

Associate Specialist
New York

Sarah Shepard is responsible for business getting and cataloguing the seasonal photographs auctions in New York. During her career in the photographs market, she has been involved in the sale of several important photograph collections, including The Seagram Collection of Photographs and, most recently, Photographs from the Estate of Thomas T. Solley.

Sarah who has a background in art history, journalism, fine art and commercial photography, has a special interest in 20th century photography and emerging art. Prior to joining Christie's, Sarah had been in the Photographs Department of a major New York auction house.

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.

Matthieu Humery

Specialist Head of Sale
Americas

Matthieu Humery was appointed Vice President and Specialist Head of Sale of the Photographs Department for Christie's New York in 2007. During his tenure at Christie's, Mr. Humery has overseen the sales of the Fremont Collection, the Elfering Collection and the Collection of Bruce and Nancy Berman’s Photographs by Diane Arbus (part I) and William Eggleston (part II). In the Spring of 2008 the Photographs Department achieved the most successful season of sales for any Photographs auction week, and established world records for works by Irving Penn’s Cuzco Children, 1948, which achieved $529,000, and Henri Cartier-Bresson Hyeres, France, 1932, which sold for $265,000. In the Fall of 2008 Mr. Humery orchestrated Christie's first ever sale of Contemporary Photographs, which set world records for artists Alec Soth and Louise Lawler.

Prior to Christie's Mr. Humery worked from 2001 until 2005 in Paris and New York as a Specialist in Photographs, Contemporary Art & 20th Century Design and has since been consultant to numerous organizations, notably the Magnum Agency, the Luma Foundation and the Watermill Foundation/Robert Wilson Art Collection.

Mr. Humery holds Masters Degrees in Art History from both the Free University in Berlin as well as the Sorbonne, where he is currently working towards his PhD.