About
David Norman began his career in 1985 as a specialist in the field of Impressionist & Modern Art at Sotheby’s. He became director of the department in 1999, a World-wide Chairman for the division in 2008, and then a Vice Chairman of Sotheby’s North American. From 2019-2022, he was Chairman of the Phillips auction house in America.
David directed sales of art works from such institutions as the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Los Angeles County Museum as well as numerous other public and private foundations. In the early 1990s, David pioneered and directed Sotheby’s first sales of 20th Century German art, staging the first international auction in the then unified city of Berlin. In 2004, David oversaw the auction of the first painting to ever break the $100 million barrier, Pablo Picasso’s Garçon a la Pipe. In 2010, he curated Sotheby’s first private selling exhibition of Modern Art in Hong Kong and Beijing.
Listed in Art + Auction as amongst the
100 most powerful innovators in the art world,
David Norman was distinguished by…
“…His long and unparalleled standing in the auction arena (which) buttresses his authority as he advises a fearsomely demanding fraternity of American collectors on both the buying and selling end.”
— Art + Auction
Under his leadership and tenure, Sotheby’s not only sold the first $100 million painting, but also the first sculpture to exceed $100 million (Giacometti’s Walking Man) and the first work on paper to pass that same mark (Edvard Munch’s, The Scream). In 2017, David acquired an early pointillist painting for the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
As a leading industry expert, David has been frequently quoted in publications such as the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, ArtNews and Art at Auction magazine. He has appeared on television networks such as CNBC and foreign outlets including CNN Asia, podcasts interviews for the Financial Times, China, and is a frequent contributor of articles for several online journals. One of the most recognized auction experts in the field of Impressionist & Modern Art and a trusted advisor to private collectors for over 35 years, Mr. Norman launched David Norman Fine Art, LLC, to continue to advise and assist individuals and institutions worldwide.
David Norman and Charles Moffett With Pablo Picasso’s Garçon a la Pipe. The painting was first bought by John Hay Whitney in 1950 for $30,000. On May 5, 2004 the painting was sold for $104 million at Sotheby's auction in New York.
It took 12 nail-biting minutes and five eager bidders for Edvard Munch’s famed 1895 pastel of “The Scream” to sell for $120 million, becoming the world’s most expensive work of art ever to sell at auction. Sotheby's New York, May 2012
Sotheby's Sells Giacometti for Record $104.3 Million. In a tense contest bidding on the spindly bronze "Walking Man I" began at £12 million and quickly escalated, with roughly 10 bidders vying for the sculpture. AP © Photo Lefteris Pitarakis
“One of the most recognized Modern & Impressionist art experts in the field, Mr. Norman was recently an independent art advisor working with many of the world’s leading collectors.”
— Art Daily
Noteworthy Museum Sales
Noteworthy Collection Sales with DNfA
Acting as the Estate’s Private Advisor for Sale at Auction.
A Legacy of Beauty: The Collection of Sydell Miller. Sotheby's, November 2024. Achieved $230 million - the highest valued collection sold at auction in 2024.
La Rêverie: The Collection of Sydell Miller. Christie's, May & June, 2021. Modern & Contemporary Art, 18th & 19th C. French Furniture and Decoration, and 20th C. Design sales achieved $46.6 million.
The Stella Collection. Christie's, October 2021. The collection included the above Picasso, which sold for $25.5 million.
Noteworthy Auction Sales
Collections Sold at Sotheby’s Under His Tenure and Leadership as Chairman of Impressionist & Modern Art Worldwide.
Masterworks, the Collection of A. Alfred Taubman, Sotheby's New York, November 2015
Edward Munch The Scream. Sotheby's New York, May 2012
Modern Masters, a Private Selling Exhibition of Modern Art, Sotheby's Hong Kong and Beijing 2010
Property of the Greentree Foundation from the Collection of Mr. & Mrs. John Hay Whitney, Sotheby's New York, May 2004
Property from the Collection of Hester Diamond, Sotheby's New York, November 2004
Impressionist & Modern Art from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John Hay Whitney, Sotheby's New York, May 1999
The Collection of Eleanore and Daniel Saidenberg, Sotheby's New York, November 1999
The Reader's Digest Collection, Sotheby's New York, November 1998
The Stanley J. Seeger Collection of Works by Picasso, Sotheby's New York, November 1993
Impressionist & Modern Paintings and Sculpture from the Collection of Donald and Jean Stralem, Sotheby's New York, May 1995
The Collection of Lydia Winston Malbin, Sotheby's New York, May 1990
Impressionist & Modern Painting, Drawings and Sculpture from the Estate of Henry H Ford II, Sotheby's New York, November 1990
Modern Paintings and Sculpture from the Collection of late Edgar J. Kaufmaann, Jr., Sotheby's New York, November 1989
The Collection of John T. Dornance, Jr., Sotheby's New York, October 1989