David Redden

David Redden
David Redden
Born David N. Redden
1949
Canton, China
Nationality American
Alma mater Wesleyan University
Occupation Auctioneer and philanthropist
Known for Auctioneer and Vice-Chairman of Sotheby's
Board member of The Black Rock Forest Consortium
The Olana Partnership
American Trust for the British Library
Hudson Highlands Nature Museum
Scenic Hudson

David Redden is a retired American auctioneer. He spent his entire career, from 1974 to 2016, with Sotheby's where he was a Vice-Chairman and was Sotheby's longest serving auctioneer. He has also chaired the boards of several American and British preservation and educational organizations.

Early life

David N. Redden was born in 1949[1][2] in the Canton, China (now named Guangzhou), where his father served as an American Consul for the US State Department. Nine months later he and his parents were withdrawn by the State Department as the Red Army advanced on Canton and transferred to Haifa, Israel.[3] His father eventually became American Consul General in London and Rome, where Redden spent much of his youth and education. He later graduated from the Art History program at Wesleyan University, where he also participated in anti-war demonstrations.[1]

Auction career

Redden began his auction career after university, starting as a catalog trainee at Sotheby's[1] in 1974 and becoming an auctioneer in 1975. He joined with the company in order to learn more about art collecting,[3] and became an auctioneer shortly after he began.[4] Between his start at Sotheby's and the mid-1990's, Redden created numerous new auction categories for the company, including the specialty categories such as “space-memorabilia”,[5] “baseball memorabilia, comic books, arcade art, computerized animation art and cookbooks.”[3] Early in his career, in the late 1970's, he was also the head of PB-84, which was Sotheby’s satellite auction house that focused on lower-priced items and unusual collecting categories. He later also became credited with developing the Internet strategy for Sotheby's in the late 1990's when he became chairman of Sothebys.com.[1] Redden is best known as the auctioneer for many of Sotheby's live auctions.[6] Redden served as a Vice-Chairman of Sotheby's[7] from February 2000[1] to 2016, when he retired.[8] He was also the Worldwide Chairman[9] of Sotheby’s Books and Manuscripts.[10]

As an auctioneer Redden sold items including two first printings of the Declaration of Independence,[1] the estate of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor,[11] the Empress Josephine's copy of Redoute's Les Liliacees containing the original watercolors,[12] the estate of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis;[1] a series of popular auctions for the Walt Disney Company;[13] the largest, most complete, and best preserved Tyrannosaurus rex fossil ever recovered[6] known as “Sue”;[14] the most valuable coin ever sold, a 1933 double eagle;[15] the rare first edition of the first book by Edgar Allan Poe;[16] the Bay Psalm Book, the first book printed in America;[17][18] the world's most valuable stamp, the British Guiana 1¢ magenta;[19] Albert Einstein's manuscript on Special Relativity,[20] a moon lander (still on the moon) and three returned space capsules;[21][22] the manuscript of the Magna Carta now in the National Archives;[8][23] two of the greatest book sales of the 20th century, the library of H. Bradley Martin and the Garden Ltd. Collection;[24][25] the Nelson Bunker Hunt sale of Ancient Coins,[26] the Four Battleflags of the Revolution,[27] the George Catlin Native American portraits collected in the 19th century by Benjamin O'Fallon and sold as a collection, and the Bomberg Talmud from the Valmadonna Library.[28] Several books have been written about his sales including Tyrannosaurus Sue by Steve Fiffer,[29] Illegal Tender by David Tripp,[30] and The One-Cent Magenta by James Barron.[31] Privately Redden sold Gilbert Stuart's Lansdowne Portrait of George Washington to the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery,[32] the papers of Martin Luther King Jr. to the city of Atlanta and the nine Forbes family Fabergé Imperial Easter Eggs.[33][34] Upon his retirement, Redden was the longest-serving auctioneer in Sotheby's history.[35]

Acting

Redden performed in the following films:

Boards

Redden has served as chair of the following boards: Scenic Hudson, The Black Rock Forest Consortium,[37] The Olana Partnership,[38] the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum,[39] the American Trust for the British Library,[40][41] and St. Stephen's School in Rome, Italy. While serving as Chairman of Scenic Hudson,[42] he led $50 million in preservation efforts and land acquisitions.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 James Barron (July 4, 2000). "PUBLIC LIVES; He's Auctioned the 1776 Declaration, Twice". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ Linda F. Selzer (2009). Charles Johnson in Context. University of Massachusetts Press. p. 215.
  3. 1 2 3 Rita Rief (August 20, 1995). "Arts/Artifacts; For one Born to Sell, Not Even the Sky's the Limit". New York Times.
  4. ↑ Lynn Douglass (July 3, 2012). "Legendary Sotheby's Auctioneer Talks Selling Duchess Of Windsor Jewels, Magna Carta". Forbes.
  5. ↑ Susan Pearce; Rosemary Flanders; Fiona Morton (2016). The Collector's Voice: Critical Readings in the Practice of Collecting: Volume 4: Contemporary Voices. Routledge. p. 150.
  6. 1 2 "How the Field Museum Played Dead Before the Auction of T-Rex Sue". The Washington Post. April 8, 2014.
  7. ↑ Allison Hoffman (September 9, 2009). "Treasure Trove". Tablet Magazine.
  8. 1 2 DAVID OLIVESTONE (Winter 2017). "The Custodian". Jewish Action.
  9. ↑ Patricia Reaney (June 18, 2014). "Rare British Guiana stamp sells for record $9.5 million". Reuters.
  10. ↑ Daniel Grant (December 15, 2015). "One of the Greatest Libraries of Judaica Heads to Auction at Sotheby's". The Observer.
  11. ↑ Robert., Lacey, (1998). Sotheby's : bidding for class (1st ed.). Boston: Little, Brown & Co. ISBN 0316511390. OCLC 38107251.
  12. ↑ Reif, Rita. "AUCTIONS". Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  13. ↑ Reif, Rita. "ARTS/ARTIFACTS; For One Born to Sell, Not Even the Sky's the Limit". Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  14. ↑ Lance Grande (2017). Curators: Behind the Scenes of Natural History Museums. University of Chicago Press. p. 131.
  15. ↑ Beth Nissen (July 30, 2002). "Auction brings $7.6 million for 'Double Eagle'". CNN.
  16. ↑ John Taylor (April 18, 1988). "Treasures So Rare". New York Magazine. pp. 67–68.
  17. ↑ Mackenzie Carpenter (September 18, 2013). "Nation's oldest book may yield divine sum Bay Psalm on display today goes to auction". Toledo Blade.
  18. ↑ "World's most expensive book auctioned for $14M in NYC". Live Auctioneers. November 27, 2013.
  19. ↑ James Barron (2017). The One-Cent Magenta: Inside the Quest to Own the Most Valuable Stamp in the World. Algonquin Books. p. 19.
  20. ↑ Billy Goodman (April 15, 1996). "At Sotheby's Auction, Space Sells, Einstein Doesn't". The Scientist.
  21. ↑ Chang, Kenneth. "After 17 Years, a Glimpse of a Lunar Purchase". Retrieved 2018-08-19.
  22. ↑ Martin, Douglas. "Space Artifacts of Soviets Soar at a $7 Million Auction". Retrieved 2018-08-19.
  23. ↑ "Magna Carta copy sold for £10.6m". BBC. December 19, 2007.
  24. ↑ "BOUND FOR AUCTION: H. BRADLEY MARTIN'S $30 MILLION COLLECTION". Washington Post. 1989-06-06. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  25. ↑ Reif, Rita. "Auctions". Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  26. ↑ "HUNT BROTHERS STRIKE GOLD IN AUCTION". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  27. ↑ Collins, Glenn. "Remnants of Revolution, $17 Million". Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  28. ↑ "The Custodian - Jewish Action". Jewish Action. 2017-12-08. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  29. ↑ Steve., Fiffer, (2000). Tyrannosaurus Sue : the extraordinary saga of the largest, most fought over T. rex ever found. New York: W.H. Freeman. ISBN 0716735121. OCLC 43555249.
  30. ↑ 1951-, Tripp, David (David Enders), (2004). Illegal tender : Gold, greed, and the mystery of the lost 1933 double eagle. New York: Free Press. ISBN 0743245741. OCLC 55078138.
  31. ↑ 1954-, Barron, James,. The one-cent magenta : inside the quest to own the most valuable stamp in the world (First ed.). Chapel Hill, North Carolina. ISBN 9781616205188. OCLC 953707635.
  32. ↑ "Smithsonian Battles to Keep Prized Portrait Of Washington". Washington Post. 2001-02-23. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  33. ↑ Adam Goldman (June 9, 2006). "Sotheby's to auction MLK papers: Sale will benefit the King estate". Associated Press.
  34. ↑ JOURNAL, Brooks BarnesStaff Reporter of THE WALL STREET. "Russian Oil Tycoon Buys Faberge Eggs From Forbes Clan". WSJ. Retrieved 2018-08-19.
  35. ↑ "David Redden". ANTIQUARIAN BOOKSELLERS' ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  36. ↑ "Niagara Falls Reporter". www.niagarafallsreporter.com. Retrieved 2018-08-19.
  37. ↑ "Black Rock Forest Consortium opens ADA-accessible nature trail". Chronicle Newspaper. October 26, 2016.
  38. ↑ Sean E. Sawyer. "The Olana Partnership announces appointment of new President". Art Daily.
  39. ↑ "Our Advisory Board & Councils: Advisory Board - David Redden". River Keeper.
  40. ↑ "Queen Elizabeth I Letters donation announced by British Library". The British Library. December 19, 2017.
  41. ↑ "The American Trust for the British Library". Guidestar.
  42. ↑ Roger Stone (2012). Mightier Hudson: The Spirited Revival of a Treasured Landscape. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 52.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.