APPRAISERS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA HONORS JEFFREY DEITCH

Award for Excellence in the Arts

13th Annual Award Luncheon on April 19, 2017

The Appraisers Association of America has announced it will present legendary art dealer and curator, Jeffrey Deitch, with the 2017 Award for Excellence in the Arts at the 13th Annual Award Luncheon on Wednesday, April 19, 2017 at the New York Athletic Club on Central Park South, New York City.  Introductory remarks will be made by Jeff Koons, the internationally recognized artist, and friend of Deitch’s for over 40 years.  

“Jeffrey Deitch has impacted the art world with his prescient vision, boundless energy and longstanding commitment to aiding artists is various media, including those artists involved in performance, graffiti and digital practices, to realize their visions.  We are grateful for this opportunity to recognize his enormous contributions to contemporary culture”, says Deborah Gerstler Spanierman, President of the Appraisers Association of America. Deitch has been involved with the art world as an artist, writer, curator, dealer and advisor for over 40 years.

Since the inaugural Award Luncheon in 2005, this event has grown to include over 300 guests, with leaders in the arts, financial, and legal professions gathering to recognize visionary contributions made to the arts. Past honorees include artist Frank Stella, artists Emilia and Ilya Kabakov, art critic Peter Schjeldahl, artist Ai Weiwei, art historian Linda Nochlin, gallerist Arne Glimcher, collector/philanthropist, Martin Margulies, former director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, Thomas Krens, art historian John Richardson, historian Wendell D. Garrett, artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, and arts educator and museum founder, Susan Weber.

Co-chairs of this year’s luncheon are Nancy Harrison and Elizabeth von Habsburg, both Certified members in leadership roles at the Appraisers Association. Luncheon attendees include artists, dealers, auction house specialists, attorneys, art insurance professionals, collectors, appraisers, conservators, curators, art advisors, museum directors and curators, and non-profit arts professionals, among others. Guests are invited to attend a networking reception followed by a sit-down lunch, remarks, presentations and a raffle of artworks..   

ABOUT JEFFREY DEITCH

Jeffrey Deitch has been involved with modern and contemporary art for more than forty years as an artist, writer, curator, dealer, and advisor.  He began his career as Assistant Director of the John Weber Gallery in New York and as Curator of the De Cordova Museum in Lincoln, Massachusetts, before going to on to receive his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1978.  Prior to opening his own art advisory firm in 1988, Mr. Deitch was a Vice President of Citibank where he helped develop and manage the bank’s art advisory and art finance businesses.  Best known for his vanguard enterprise on Grand Street, Deitch Projects, Deitch produced more than two hundred and fifty projects by contemporary artists during the gallery’s operations, from 1996 through 2010 mostly outside the traditional confines of the gallery model. In 2014, Rizzoli published Live the Art, a major monograph detailing the celebrated history of Deitch Projects. Deitch was Director of The Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, from 2010-2013, returning to New York to resume his active art advisory and curatorial practice.

ABOUT THE APPRAISERS ASSOCIATION of AMERICA

The Appraisers Association of America, established in 1949, is the premier association of personal property appraisers who focus on fine and decorative arts. Members are required to be certified according to the highest professional standards, known in the field as USPAP (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice). Members serve public and private collectors alike to deliver independent, ethical, and objective valuations for insurance, estate tax, charitable donation, equitable distribution, and liquidation purposes.

For further information about attending the event, press or sponsorship opportunities, please visit www.appraisersassociation.org/luncheon, or contact Linda Selvin, Executive Director, Appraisers Association of America at 212-889-5404, ext. 12 or via email at lselvin@appraisersassociation.org.

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