Our longstanding relationships with museums, gallery owners, prominent collectors, art fair and curatorial professionals, and artists in the contemporary art world yield high-level opportunities for our clients.
From selection to installation, we guide our clients through establishing major collections to acquiring that one special, singular art treasure.
Our clients are diverse—ranging from Fortune 10 corporations to small companies to public art spaces to private collectors—both in the United States and abroad.
Lea Weingarten began the Weingarten Art Group (formerly Contemporary Connoisseur) in 2006, after more than fifteen years experience of working with public and private art collections in achieving their collecting goals. Ms. Weingarten co-founded The Menil Collection’s popular Contemporaries collecting group at the personal request of Mme. Dominique de Menil. She serves on the boards of the Glassell School Core Committee, the Prints and Drawings Acquisitions Committee of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Menil Society Steering Committee for The Menil Collection. She has also served multiple terms on the board of the Contemporary Art Museum, Houston. Lea holds a Bachelor of Arts from Tufts University and an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.
Zooey Martin received her BA, magna cum laude, from Barnard College, Columbia University, and her MA in art history from Washington University. As a curator, Ms. Martin has worked at the Morgan Library & Museum, New York, where she curated Jim Dine: The Glyptotek Drawings, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Saint Louis Art Museum. She has organized several museum exhibitions and contributed to numerous exhibition catalogues. Ms. Martin has extensive experience working with private collectors and has been integral to realizing many private collections as museum exhibitions: including the Morgan Library’s Mannerism and Modernism: The Kasper Collection of Drawings and Photographs; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston’s presentations of END GAME: British Contemporary Art from the Chaney Family Collection, 2008, for which she authored the accompanying catalogue, and RED HOT: Contemporary Asian Art from the Chaney Family Collection, 2007, for which she contributed to the catalogue. Ms. Martin writes about art for various publications including artforum.com, glasstire.com, Art+Culture Houston, and Art Ltd. Magazine.
Melanie Harris de Maycotte specializes in Modern and Contemporary Latin American Art. She holds degrees in Spanish Literature, Communications and Latin American Studies from the University of Texas—Austin. The Director of her own gallery in Mexico for eight years, Ms. Harris de Maycotte has great insight into the inside workings of the art market and into U.S. and Latin American emerging artists. Her hands-on experience with the art fair world and with international galleries, as well as her ability to identify early talent, is of particular usefulness for collectors. Ms. Harris de Maycotte also approaches art advising from a Fine Arts perspective—through the fundamentals of construction, composition, concept, color, and quality of line. An active arts writer, her essays have been published in artist catalogues and arts journals. Expertise in cultural and artistic trends in Latin America, in particular Mexico, are hallmarks of Ms. Harris de Maycotte’s ongoing practice.
Caroline Ewing Walker holds a B.A. in Art History from Smith College, a M.A. in Modern Art History, Theory & Criticism from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and has completed Ph.D. coursework in African, Oceanic & Pre-Columbian Art at Indiana University. Her experience includes writing about contemporary art, curating exhibitions, teaching art history at the university level, working in museum education and public programs, and in managing a corporate art collection. Caroline’s primary interests are in global contemporary art, community engagement and education.
Weingarten Art Group’s clients are typically savvy but “time poor.” They need to know their special needs are being met, and we fulfill those needs in abundance. We are able to offer clear, impartial, objective guidance because we do not maintain an inventory of art and are not beholden to any specific artists or galleries.
Collection Planning, Art Selection and Acquisitions
Innovative solutions to meet a client’s needs is an area of expertise for Lea Weingarten and is a hallmark of her practice. She has been called upon by public institutions, private companies, corporations and numerous individuals to bring a new image, to implement a fresh vision and to engage the public in the collecting experience. All this, with a depth and knowledge of the Modern and Contemporary art market that only decades can bring. We attend major art fairs internationally and travel extensively from coast to coast to maintain excellent access to highly-desired artworks and artists for our clients, all with the goal to offer our clients the best work at the best possible price. We operate with complete anonymity of our clients, if desired. We excel at developing art collections to reflect the aesthetic taste, budget requirements and goals of our clients, from private residences to public spaces to leading corporations.
Lighting, Framing and Installation
Our office works with many of the finest art handlers and support firms in the industry to properly light, present and install our clients’ treasures. It is these finishing touches that help to maximize our clients’ collections. We have installed collections all over the Unites States, in the UK and in Europe.
Collection Management
Weingarten Art Group has managed art collections ranging from a handful of treasures to 7,000+ artworks. Our services encompass inventory assessment, acquisitions, cataloguing, labeling, de-accessions, collection reporting and, when requested, day-to-day requests. We employ one of the most trusted museum management software databases to manage our clients’ art collections. We believe that successful art collection will reflect and communicate the aesthetic, set of interests, image and the originality of the collector.
Corporate
Lea Weingarten has extensive experience in working with all levels of management, particularly at the Executive level, and has budget management experience of up to $30 million. These skills, in addition to two decades of art industry experience, combine to bring maximum value to our corporate clients. Whether it is the creation of environments to reflect a corporate vision and enhance the workplace, the customization of art presentations for senior management, the management of day-to-day requirements of a corporate art collection, or the management a budget, Weingarten Art Group has the skills, presence, professionalism and reach to meet your corporate art needs.
Education & Travel
Weingarten Art Group regularly incorporates gallery outings, studio visits with artists, art fair access and travel, fine art library additions, and academic briefings into our program. It is our earnest desire that our clients learn as much as they would like about what they collect.
Budget Planning
We are somewhat of an anomaly in the art world in that Lea Weingarten has an MBA (Northwestern University) and extensive business experience, skills which enable us to analyze our clients’ collections from an investment and analytical perspective—always with an eye toward budget limitations and long-range value. We excel at and have a track record in building collections that have a investment component.
Art/Interior Design Partnership
Weingarten Art Group collaborates regularly on interior design and architectural projects to help complete the aesthetic feel of the space. We welcome projects of any size and strive to both simplify and clarify art collecting for our clients.
The Weingarten Art Group
2422 Bartlett Street, Unit F
Houston, Texas 77098
713.520.0561
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Email us at info@weingartenartgroup.com
