
Capera Ryan
Deputy Chairman
Client Management, Americas
Capera Ryan was appointed Deputy Chairman of Christie’s Americas, effective, January 2016. In this role, she focuses on client engagement and strategic development opportunities by bringing together key art-world influences from private, trade and institutional circles. She is known within the collecting community for her ability to take art enthusiasts behind the scenes of the auction world and major global art world events, such as the Venice Biennale. She assists clients in demystifying the auction process and guiding both emerging and established collectors through acquisition and sale decisions.
Among the major collections she has brought to auction include the Estate of Edwin L. Cox, the George Michael Collection, Property from the Personal Collection of Jane Fonda, Property from the Estate of Robert Indiana and Personal Collection of Robert Indiana, the Van Cliburn Collection, Jewels and Art from the collection of H.S.H Princess Cecil Amelia Von Furstenberg, the T. Boone Pickens Collection, the Sowell Collection, the Betty Gertz “Hatcher” Collection, the Crespi Estate Collection, Property from the Collection of Elizabeth “Betty” Brooke Blake, the Collection of Nancy Lee & Perry R. Bass, Property from the Estate of Richard Bass, Property from the Collection of Montgomery “Montie” H.W. Ritchie, the Collection of Melva Bucksbaum, and the Collection of Rita Crocker Clements. Ms. Ryan has worked on acquisitions and deaccessioning for the Dallas Museum of Art, the Kimbell Museum, the Nasher Museum and the Amon Carter Museum, among other major institutions worldwide.
Ms. Ryan was most recently Senior Vice President, Managing Director for the Southwest Region. She joined Christie’s in 2002 as the Head of the Texas office. Prior to joining Christie’s, Ms. Ryan worked as a Specialist in the Jewelry Department of Sotheby’s, New York.
With Family ties to both Dallas and Fort Worth, Capera is an active member of the community and the liaison between local clients and Christie’s worldwide. She is on the Board of the American Federation of the Arts in New York, the American Friends of the Musee d’Orsay (New York), Anderson Ranch (Aspen), the Texas Ballet Theatre (Dallas), and the Van Zandt Cottage Friends (Fort Worth). She is an active member of the Sweetheart Ball Committee for the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, the Dallas Performing Arts President’s Advisory Council, Daughters of the American Revolution, the Founder’s Garden Club of America, and the Dallas Assembly. Capera is a Founding member of the Director’s Circle at Crow Collection of Asian Art. She has participated as a past board member of the Dallas Historical Society and Dallas Contemporary and is a trustee of the Episcopal School of Dallas.
Ms. Ryan attended the Episcopal School of Dallas, the Hotchkiss School and earned her bachelor’s degree at Vanderbilt University, where she spent three years as the Head of the Vanderbilt Sarratt Art Gallery. She graduated with degrees in Art History and Organizational Development. She completed courses in diamonds and colored stones at the Gemological Institute of America.