Peter M. Fairbanks
President
Peter Maynard Fairbanks is President and co-owner of Montgomery Gallery, San Francisco, the most respected international gallery in the western United States specializing in both European and American Art (with a special focus on the Art of California), and dealer to museums and collectors throughout the world.
Mr. Fairbanks has over 33 years of experience in the art trade and is a member of Art Dealers Association of America, Confederation International des Negociants en Oeuvres d’Art, Appraisers Association of America, San Francisco Art Dealers Association, among others. Since its inception 10 years ago, Mr. Fairbanks has been serving as a Fine Arts Appraiser for Public Television’s Antiques Road Show. He arranged for Montgomery Gallery to exhibit in prestigious art fairs in Paris, Maastricht (The Netherlands), Brussels, London, Basel, Munich, New York, Palm Beach, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, and San Francisco, many for which he served on their vetting committees.
Previous to being the founding Director of Montgomery Gallery in 1984, Mr. Fairbanks was the Senior Vice President and Head of Operations and Fine Arts for Butterfield Auctioneers (now Bonham and Butterfields). There he instituted specialized sales; opened auction rooms in Los Angeles; inaugurated a simultaneous auctioning system to simulcast in multiple cities; expanded the regional offices; activated a Museum Deacessioning Program; among other innovations which resulted in Butterfields’ turnover more than doubling, leading it to become the third largest auction house in the U.S. by that time.
Upon graduating from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland in Classical Studies, Mr. Fairbanks went to London to attend Sotheby’s executive training program, then called the Works of Art Scheme, which he completed in 1974. He went on to the William Doyle (auction) Gallery, New York, and founded their painting department. On the advent of the London based Phillips Auctioneers opening in New York, he was hired as the Senior Vice President in charge of Business Development and Fine Arts. In addition to developing a full auction schedule, he was instrumental in effecting the acquisition of the Rhinelander Mansion (at East 72nd and Madison) for Phillips, instituted a Trust and Estates Department, liaised with their Canadian division, opened a branch office in Boston, and successfully contracted for the largest auction for Phillips at that time.
Mr. Fairbanks initiated the Catalogue Raisonne on the French Post-Impressionist painter, Henri Lebasque (1865-1937), wrote the Monograph, published in 1988, and has been the author of numerous exhibition catalogues and articles. He has served on such boards as the European Fine Arts Foundation (organizers of the Maastricht Fair), The Hearst Castle Preservation Foundation, the Friends of Vieilles Maisons Francaises, the San Francisco Art Dealers Association and today uses his auctioneering skills primarily for charitable purposes. A native of Cambridge, Massachussetts, he now resides in San Francisco.
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Elisabeth Peters
Consultant, American Art Department
Elisabeth is a principal of Montgomery Gallery and Director of the American Department. A native of San Francisco after graduating from Stanford University, Elisabeth joined the firm of Butterfield & Butterfield Auctioneers in San Francisco as a member of the American and European Painting Department. As a fifth generation Californian, she developed an interest in California art and inaugurated the first California painting department and auctions at Butterfields which today are a staple of the auction house. In 1984, she, Peter Fairbanks and Ellen Storck founded Montgomery Gallery where she serves as head of the American Department with a special focus on the art of California. She has authored a number of exhibition catalogues on California 19th century, impressionist and regional painters and has done extensive study on the art of Theodore Wores. |
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