Who better to explain the harrowing twists and turns of transporting a precious work of art to its final destination than a team of art dealers, collectors and transport specialists? Providing useful tips on how to negotiate this oftentimes convoluted process, Asia Week New York presents a panel of experts who discuss the road from seller to buyer from their individual perspectives. To reserve a spot, for Wednesday, February 24 at 5:00 p.m., click here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_z-CiaSxkQgee-EhUxsB3ZQ 

Says Lark Mason, founder of iGavel Auctions and president of the Appraisers Association of America, who will moderate the discussion: “Our intent is to provide practical information about how to get from A to Z –avoiding as much stress as possible–after purchasing a work of art.”

The experts include:

Mark Aiston has worked in the art and antiques shipping and storage business since 1983. He founded his own company, Aiston Fine Art Services, in 2002 catering to the demanding needs of the discerning art collecting and auction worlds, both locally and internationally.

Susan L. Beningson is an independent curator based in New York City. Her current project is part of Triennial now on view at the Asia Society Museum entitled: "We The People: Xu Bing and Sun Xun Respond to the Declaration of Independence."  From 2013 through 2019 she was a curator of Asian Art at the Brooklyn Museum where she organized the reinstallation of the Arts of China galleries and the exhibition "One: Xu Bing" as well as co-curating the reinstallation of the Arts of Korea gallery and the exhibition "Infinite Blue."  A well-known collector of Asian art, Dr. Beningson's collection of 150 objects of Indian temple jewelry was the subject of an international traveling exhibition organized by the Asia Society Museum and toured with the American Federation of Arts to aix venues and is now part of the permanent collection of the Newark Museum.

Steven Chait is the President of Ralph M. Chait Galleries in New York City.  The Gallery was founded by their namesake and Steven's grandfather, Ralph M. Chait in 1910.  The Gallery today is the oldest specialist gallery in the United States dealing in fine antique Chinese porcelains and works of art.  Over its remarkable long history, the gallery has worked with and sold to museums and private collectors throughout the world.

Mee-Seen Loong is a director of INKstudio, a gallery based in Beijing focused on contemporary Chinese Ink art and provides art advisory services to collectors, corporations and museums. She is a consultant to Sotheby’s where her long career of 40-plus years has included the roles of Managing Director of Sotheby’s Hong Kong and Vice-Chairman, Chinese Art and Asian Paintings worldwide. 

For the past twenty-five years, Ellen Hoener Ross has provided significant guidance and innovative solutions to meet the changing risk management and insurance needs of the art world. As the Managing Director of the Fine Arts and Cultural Institutions Practices at Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services, her team specializes in fine arts insurance for art collectors, cultural institutions, artists, galleries, and nonprofits. Before joining Gallagher, Ms. Ross was the Fine Arts Practice leader at Wells Fargo.  She also worked as the property claims manager for Hanover Insurance Co. and as a fine arts/jewelry claims specialist and Underwriter for Hartford Insurance Co.

About Asia Week New York

The collaboration of top-tier international Asian art galleries, the six major auction houses-Bonhams, Christie’s, Doyle, Heritage Auctions, iGavel, and Sotheby’s–and numerous museums and Asian cultural institutions, Asia Week New York is a week-long celebration filled with simultaneous gallery open houses, Asian art auctions as well as numerous museum exhibitions, lectures, and special events. Participants from the United States and countries abroad unveil an extraordinary selection of museum-quality treasures from China, India, the Himalayas, Southeast Asia, Tibet, Nepal, Japan, and Korea.

Asia Week New York Association, Inc. is a 501(c)(6) non-profit trade membership organization registered with the state of New York. For more information visit www.AsiaWeekNewYork.com @asiaweekny #asiaweekny

About Songtsam, Presenting Sponsor

Continuing as Presenting Sponsor for Asia Week New York is Songtsam Hotels, Resorts & Tours, an award-winning luxury boutique hotel group with twelve properties (four Linka resort hotels and eight lodges) located in the Chinese provinces of Tibet and Yunnan.  Founded by Baima Duoji, in 2000, the hotel group is the only collection of luxury Tibetan-style retreats found across the Tibetan Plateau that strives to preserve and share the cultures and spirituality of its locale, all the while offering guests sophisticated elegance, refined design, modern amenities, and unobtrusive service in places of natural beauty and cultural interest. For information, visit: www.songtsam.com/en