Canada-born, London-based Ariane Belisle, who specialises in postwar and contemporary art, set up AIB with the primary aim of ‘leveraging emerging artists and art with a primary focus on new collectors who may not know where to start’, she explains. She offers the full range of art advisory services, from buying, selling and collection management to shipping, valuation, framing and organising collateral loans.
Since her MA in curating at the Courtauld, Belisle has been on a steep upward trajectory. She was poached from her first job at Sotheby’s by a property investment giant to manage his £70 million art collection. ‘I was incredibly lucky to get this dream role early in my career,’ she says.
More followed, including projects at the Tate and the V&A.
The keys to being a successful adviser are, she says, transparency and a strong art historical background. ‘Collectors should liaise directly with the artist through the art adviser, visit the artist in the studio, be aware of artistic concepts and market trends,’ she explains.
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There is no question in Belisle’s mind as to her favourite art work: Cy Twombly’s ‘colossal’ Quattro Stagioni: ‘I switched my major from business to art history just based on those four paintings and how powerful they were for me.’
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