MUMBAI.- Robin Woodhead, Chairman of Sotheby’s International, will announce strategic appointments in the Company’s Indian business and the opening of an office in Mumbai, India. Edward Gibbs has been appointed Chairman of Sotheby’s India, Middle East and North Africa and Priyanka Mathew has been appointed Regional Director, Sotheby’s India. The move demonstrates the company’s commitment to providing a greater level of service to its clients based in the country. By opening an office in India, the company will be able to increase the scale and scope of its activities in the country and support a full calendar of events, lectures, exhibitions, and charity sales. This move facilitates the company’s abilities to connect with a greater number of new and existing collectors in India through our global network of specialists and auctions. The announcement coincides with the company’s preview in Mumbai of highlights from its upcoming Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art sale in London in October, at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, The Ballroom, Apollo Bunder, Mumbai.

Sotheby’s has been active in India for almost three decades working with the leading collectors in the country and staging regular events in New Delhi and Mumbai. It was the first international auction house to hold an auction in India, when in October 1992, it mounted a sale of Indian, European and Oriental Paintings and Works of Art in New Delhi. Today, amid ever increasing auction participation from a growing Indian client base, the value of purchases by Indian clients at Sotheby’s has grown, on average, by 42% per year over the past five years at Sotheby’s.

Speaking of Sotheby’s office opening, Robin Woodhead, Chairman of Sotheby’s International, said: “In recent years, collectors and buyers based in India have become increasingly active in Sotheby’s international auctions across a broad spectrum of collecting categories - from Contemporary and Impressionist Art to Jewellery and Old Masters. Our decision to open an office in Mumbai and appoint Edward Gibbs and Priyanka Mathew to these key roles is testament to the importance of India to Sotheby’s global business. These initiatives will allow us to provide a more sophisticated level of service to our existing collectors and enable the company to further develop its client base and activities in the country.”

The announcement of these appointments and the India office opening comes ahead of Sotheby’s second annual India and Islamic Art Week taking place in London under the direction of Edward Gibbs and Yamini Mehta. Following last year’s highly successful series, this year, exhibitions and sales from the 2nd - 7th October include the single-owner sale of The Sven Gahlin Collection of Indian Miniature paintings, Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art, and Arts of the Islamic World.

Priyanka Mathew, Regional Director, Sotheby’s India
For the last five years Priyanka has been Sotheby’s International Senior Specialist, Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art, based in New York. During this time, while focussing on the collecting category of Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art, she has worked with Indians who collect across the range categories Sotheby’s sells.

Speaking of her new role in India, Priyanka Mathew said: “We have been active in India for almost three decades working with the leading collectors in the country and staging regular events in New Delhi and Mumbai. The art scene in India has never been more vibrant. There are new galleries, museums and initiatives emerging all the time that are engaging more people than ever before. The crowds at our events earlier this year showed that there is a real hunger for the sort of international outlook that Sotheby’s offers, so we are thrilled to be expanding our operations here to become a bigger part of this mix. In this new role I will use my experience both at Sotheby’s and in my previous career on Wall Street to increase the visibility of the Sotheby’s brand, drive more business with our existing clients and engage with a new audience of private and corporate collectors.”