NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s announced today the appointment of Marc Porter as Chairman of Christie’s Americas effective January 2010. In this role, Mr. Porter will lead the Top Client Program in the Americas and remain President of Christie’s Japan, and a member of the Board of Christie’s. In addition, Stephen Lash has been appointed Chairman Emeritus and Christopher Burge remains as Christie's principal auctioneer in the U.S. and Honorary Chairman, Americas. Both continue to be equally engaged in top client relationship management in partnership with Mr. Porter.

“In his five-year tenure as President of Christie's Americas, Marc Porter’s leadership, breadth of experience, and knowledge of the art business has been an invaluable asset. We look forward to much continued success in his expanded role as Chairman of Christie's Americas,” said Edward Dolman, Chief Executive Officer of Christie’s International.

Mr. Porter was appointed President of Christie’s Americas in February 2004. Prior to this position Mr. Porter held numerous other roles at Christie’s including the head of trusts and estates and the international managing director for our sales of Impressionist and Modern and Post-War and Contemporary Paintings. Mr. Porter has been one of Christie’s primary business-getters since joining the firm and has been instrumental in securing numerous important collections over the past two decades. He has been especially active in the firm’s involvement with matters involving Holocaust-related restitutions including the oversight of the Mauerbach Sale in 1995, which was the beginning of the recognition by the art world of the serious matters to be redressed with respect to pictures stolen by the Nazis. Mr. Porter also played an important role in the record-breaking sales of the five paintings by Gustav Klimt that were restituted to Maria Altman and other heirs of Adele and Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer. Mr Porter, whose primary academic interest is American material culture also advised Jefferson Medical College on its private sale of Thomas Eakins’ masterpiece “The Gross Clinic” and created the structure that permitted the Philadelphia Museum of Art and The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts to retain the picture in Philadelphia.

Mr. Porter earned a B.A. degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s College of Arts and Sciences and a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds a law degree from Yale Law School. Prior to joining Christie’s, he was associated with the New York law firm of Proskauer Rose Goetz & Mendelsohn. He also held positions with the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the office of the general counsel of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.