NEW YORK, NY.- Nanne Dekking has been appointed the new Chairman of The European Fine Art Foundation (TEFAF), succeeding Willem van Roijen, effective immediately. Nanne Dekking is an eloquent advocate for change in the international art market and will provide strong and effective leadership for TEFAF and its future ambitions as the organisation continues to develop.

The appointment of Mr Dekking as Chairman comes swiftly after new appointments were made to the TEFAF Board of Trustees and the TEFAF New York Advisory Board, announced in April 2017. For Willem van Roijen, finding a ‘skillful, intelligent and charismatic’ successor was paramount, as it is important for TEFAF to continue to keep pace with an ever-changing art market.

‘In a new Chairman of TEFAF, the Board of Trustees and the EC looked for a supporter of change who has broad experience in both the institutional and private sectors of the art market. Nanne Dekking has these qualities in abundance. In addition, Nanne has lived and worked in New York since 1996 so his knowledge of the US market, a key market for TEFAF and our dealer community, will be invaluable for driving the TEFAF organisation forward. Being Chairman has been a professional and personal priviledge for me and I am delighted to hand over the reins to Nanne’, said Willem van Roijen, who will continue to hold a position on the TEFAF Board of Trustees.

Mr Dekking will lead the TEFAF Executive Committee which has also seen new appointments in 2017.

The complete TEFAF Executive Committee:
NANNE DEKKING
Chairman
KONRAD BERNHEIMER
Chairman Pictura
BEN JANSSENS
Chairman Antiquairs

Members of the Executive Committee:
GEORG LAUE *
JAMES ROUNDELL
HIDDE VAN SEGGELEN
DINO TOMASSO *
CHRISTOPHE DE QUÉNETAIN *
(* NEW APPOINTEES APRIL 2017)

‘I have followed TEFAF’s development with keen interest for many years. The organisation’s recent dramatic expansion and re-branding has been extremely ambitious and sets the stage for significant growth in its international reputation. It is an honour to be chosen to succeed Willem van Roijen in this role as Chairman, and the organisation is greatly indebted to him for his work. Together with TEFAF’s CEO, Patrick van Maris, Willem has initiated great change in the organisation and I look forward to furthering the ambitions of TEFAF as a powerful art community’, said Nanne Dekking.

Patrick van Maris, CEO of TEFAF since May 2015, said ‘I am grateful to Willem van Roijen for his continued support of TEFAF. With the appointment of Nanne Dekking I am pleased TEFAF has found a highly capable successor to Willem. Nanne and I share the same values and I look forward to working closely with him to fulfil TEFAF’s future ambitions.’

Mr Dekking is the co-founder and CEO of Artory LLC, New York and Artory GmbH, Berlin. The foremost goal of Artory is to restore confidence in the market place, dealerships and auction houses, where a lack of transparency has created uncertainty and dampened confidence, creating a barrier to entry for prospective buyers or for existing buyers to re-engage. In his former position at Sotheby’s New York, he was Vice Chairman and the Worldwide Head of Private Sales. His close relationships with collectors and museums in North America, Asia and Europe were integral to the continued growth of private sales at Sotheby’s. Prior to joining Sotheby’s, he was Vice President of Wildenstein & Co and he has advised individuals, museums and foundations on the formation and development of their collections. From 1996-2001 Mr Dekking was the founder and principal of Nanne Dekking Fine Arts, an art consultancy firm and gallery in New York. After graduation from the University of Amsterdam he held numerous distinguished positions in The Netherlands, including Deputy Administrative Director of the Dutch National Ballet. He started his career as Assistant Curator of the Historical Collections of HM The Queen of The Netherlands.

Dekking lives in Brooklyn with his husband, journalist Frank Ligtvoet, and their two children.