BOULDER, CO.- Artemis Gallery, the globally recognized online auction firm specializing in ancient and ethnographic art, announces the promotion of Sydelle Rubin-Dienstfrey, Ph.D., to Head of the company’s new Fine & Visual Arts Department. An accomplished researcher and writer in the ancient art and antiquities field, Rubin-Dienstfrey has served as Artemis Gallery’s Art Historian and Head of Research & Fine Art since 2017.
Rubin-Dienstfrey’s educational background and comprehensive knowledge of art in all its forms make her “uniquely qualified” to establish a new business vertical for Artemis Gallery, said the company’s managing director, Teresa Dodge. “We have always included selections of folk and outsider art; Spanish colonial, modern and contemporary art in our sales, and with each successive auction, there has been a marked uptick in those categories. It became clear to us that it was time to launch a dedicated department that encompassed the broader realm of fine and visual arts, and Sydelle was the ideal person to oversee such an initiative. Her qualifications are impeccable.”
After earning a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Harvard University, Rubin-Dienstfrey went on to earn both a master of arts (art history & museum studies) and Ph.D. (art history) from Boston University. Her doctorate dissertation was titled “Emigrants in Harlem: New Perspectives on Miguel Covarrubias and Winold Reiss.”
During her student days, Rubin-Dienstfrey was the recipient of many distinguished fellowships, scholarships and awards, among them: the Presidential University Teaching Fellowship, Humanities Foundation Award, Harriet T. Marsh Scholarship, and Adelson Traveling Fellowship (all while at Boston University). While working on her dissertation, she was awarded the Henry Luce Foundation ACLS Dissertation Fellowship in American Art, which enabled her to visit and research archives and collections at La Universidad de las Americas, Puebla, Mexico; the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, University of Texas at Austin; the Library of Congress; the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Howard University; the National Portrait Gallery, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Harlem, NYC.
After obtaining her Ph.D., Rubin-Dienstfrey spent five years in arts research, working for The Jewish Museum, Cityscape Institute (the Harlem Gateway Corridor project), The Mizel Museum in Denver, and the Denver Art Museum (DAM). While at the latter institution, she reviewed the collection of American works in the Paintings and Sculpture Department for curator Timothy Standring and developed concepts for potential exhibitions including “The Ten Cent Breakfast: Impressionism from Giverny to America” and “The Stieglitz Circle at the DAM.”
From 2002 through 2013, Rubin-Dienstfrey was a member of the adjunct faculty at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Concurrent to her museum employment, she taught several classes at the university including "Arts of the African Diaspora," "History of World Art I: Ancient Art," and "History of World Art II: Renaissance to Contemporary Art." For two years, she served as a board member and advisor to the Louisville (Colo.) Arts District, helping to develop and promote the visual and performing arts.
In August 2013, Rubin-Dienstfrey joined Artemis Gallery, where her duties have included managing the research and writing team, assessing and analyzing artworks, and training and supervising new team members. She will now use her superlative qualifications and specific industry experience to develop a new, dedicated division for Artemis that encompasses fine and visual art dating from the Renaissance through the modern and contemporary periods.
“There has always been a connection between modern art and African or ethnographic art. Likewise, Asian art goes far beyond its ancient origins, with centuries of influence that meaningfully impacted other art genres,” said Rubin-Dienstfrey. “It seems only natural that Artemis Gallery’s buyers of ancient art would make that visual connection and be inspired to explore other art avenues. We’re excited to be establishing a new division that answers the modern-day collector’s desire to take a more eclectic approach to visual arts.”
Artemis Gallery is currently accepting art and antiquities consignments for its August 26 Fine Art Auction and October 2021 Exceptional Auction. To contact Sydelle Rubin-Dienstfrey about consigning a collection or single item, call 720-890-7700 or email sydelle@artemisgallery.com.
