Sotheby’s has announced that Mari-Claudia Jiménez will join Sotheby’s this September. Based in New York, Jiménez will lead Sotheby’s Trust & Estates and Valuations efforts as Managing Director.
As a Partner at Herrick Feinstein LLP – which has one of the world’s most prominent art and cultural property law practices, which she joined in 2004 – Jiménez has been involved in an impressive number of major acquisitions, consignments and cases, working with a wide range of clients including prominent museums, galleries, estates, top collectors and auction houses.
Some of Mari-Claudia Jiménez’s notable public cases include: in 2006, she and Herrick Feinstein LLP represented Neue Galerie New York in its acquisition of Gustav Klimt’s Adele Block-Bauer I, one of the artist’s greatest achievements and now a crown jewel of the museum’s collection. The heirs of Kazimir Malevich have been long-term clients of Mari-Claudia Jiménez, working together on the restitution and subsequent sales of five paintings by the artist that included Suprematist Composition, which set the current auction record for the artist at Sotheby’s New York in 2008 with a final price of $60 million. Jiménez was also a key player in the sale of the estate of Mrs. Sidney F. Brody at Christie’s New York in 2010. The collection included hundreds of items across multiple categories and was led by Pablo Picasso’s Nude, Green Leaves and Bust, a then-record price for any work of art at auction.
Mari-Claudia Jiménez said: “I am honored to be joining Sotheby’s vibrant business. Over the last 12 years, I have worked alongside high-profile estates and collectors in the art world as they consigned and purchased at auction and private sale. I am excited to bring to Sotheby’s my perspective on what works best for clients, and to contribute to their experience collecting and selling at all levels.”
Hugh Hildesley, Vice Chairman of Sotheby’s Americas, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Mari-Claudia to Sotheby’s, where she will join esteemed colleagues in our Trust & Estate and Valuations teams. Her impeccable credentials and wealth of knowledge in the world of art law will be major assets to the business, which continues to grow.”
Since joining Herrick Feinstein LLP in 2004, Mari-Claudia Jiménez has been an integral member of the Art Law Group. While building relationships over the course of weeks, months and years, she counseled her clients on transactions, advised on the maintenance of collections, and managed litigations. In addition to guiding private and institutional clients on consignments and purchases, arranging for loans at museums and galleries, and organizing the logistics required in between, Jiménez has also played an important role in domestic and international claims; she had particularly noteworthy success in cases relating to the restitution of art looted in Europe and in Cuba, to which she maintains a strong connection through her Cuban-Spanish heritage.
Mari-Claudia Jiménez is a graduate of Fordham University Law School and Fordham University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Prior to attending law and graduate school, Jiménez studied Art History at Williams College, and continues to support her alma mater as a board member of its Museum of Art Visiting Committee.