Kim Heirston

Kim Heirston is a private art advisor and the founder of Kim Heirston Art Advisory LLC. For three decades, Heirston has worked with clients worldwide to develop post-war and contemporary art collections for private residences, corporate headquarters, hotels, and foundations. Her firm's philosophy emphasizes education, research, and discretion, providing market experience, art historical expertise, and professional services to assist clients in establishing collections with investment value.

Heirston earned a Bachelor of Arts in art history from Yale University. Following her undergraduate studies, she held positions in New York City galleries, including Pace and Robert Miller Gallery. At Pace, she worked with the estate of Mark Rothko and contemporary artists such as John Chamberlain and Chuck Close. At Robert Miller Gallery, Heirston engaged with the work of Louise Bourgeois, Eva Hesse, Lee Krasner, and Joan Mitchell. She later became director of Stux Gallery in New York, coordinating international exhibitions and presenting early shows by Andres Serrano, Doug and Mike Starn, and Vik Muniz in cities including Tokyo and Madrid.

Heirston established herself as an independent art advisor and, in the early years of her advisory, placed works by artists Richard Prince, Cindy Sherman, Jeff Koons, and Damien Hirst. Kim Heirston Art Advisory expanded its scope to include modern and post-war masters such as Picasso, Brancusi, Rothko, and Warhol. She was selected by Oprah Winfrey to help curate "By Women, For Tomorrow's Women" at Sotheby's, the first major sale dedicated exclusively to female artists.

In addition to advising, Heirston has worked as a curator and public intellectual. She organized an exhibition in New York of monumental paintings by Francesco Clemente titled "Dormiveglia." For the G7 Summit in Naples, Italy, she commissioned artists from the forum's seven countries to create site-specific works for a Neapolitan villa. Her work has been featured in the media as part of curated sets for the television series "Sex and the City." She has lectured on Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler as part of a Ninth Street Women lecture series, and was invited to lecture on "Women in the Art Market" at Columbia University.

Heirston has delivered the commencement address at Sotheby's Institute of Art, New York, highlighting the importance of knowledge, integrity, and determination in the art advisory field. Kim Heirston Art Advisory has been listed in the Financial Times Who's Who list of Top 10 International Art Advisors, and Heirston was selected by Forbes for the 50 Over 50 List. The advisory has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and New York Magazine.