About Heritage Auctions - Art: Decorative Arts

Karen holds a Master’s Degree in Decorative Arts History from Parsons’s School of Design and the New School for Social Research through the Cooper Hewitt Museum.  Her career began in the curatorial departments of distinguished collections including the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts where responsibilities included the reinstallation of the decorative arts collections and period rooms as well as establishing the collecting direction of the Norwest Modernism Collection.

She went on to Gallery Directorships in Chicago, Atlanta and Birmingham, MI, accepting opportunities to continue to curate exhibitions while buying extensively and developing private collections of furniture, ceramics and glass.  Beginning in 2003 she developed curriculum and taught graduate and undergraduate courses in the History of Decorative Arts for institutions including Georgia State University.

Karen has been with Heritage Auction since 2007, and has been involved with the Fine Silver & Vertu Auctions sincere their inception in May 2008.  She is currently Director of Silver and Decorative Arts.

Carolyn Mani's background includes more than fifteen years of experience in both live and online auctions,   as well as an extensive background in appraising and vetting Furniture and Decorative Arts, Fine Art, Collectibles, Musical Instruments and Entertainment Memorabilia. Prior to joining Heritage, Carolyn was Director and Auctioneer at Bonhams & Butterfields Estate department for more than ten years  where she established a proven track record in working with large consignments and institutions.  Carolyn has also provided auction services to numerous charities including John Wayne Cancer Society, Stars for a Cause, The LOOC foundation, Wheels for Humanity, The Beverly Hills Bar Association Barristers, The Chrysalis Foundation, Project Angel Food, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, The Chuck Jones Center for Creativity and many others.

Richard Cervantes is Consignment Director for Asian Art, New York. His expertise in the identification, valuation, marketing and sale of fine Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Southeast Asian works of art was developed over ten years as a specialist and eventual department head at a major East Coast auction house. Prior to his career in auction, Richard was a scholar and educator in the fields of Ancient History and Italian Literature. He has frequently presented to private and trade audiences on Asian Art and textile topics and is a featured appraiser on PBS' Antiques Roadshow.

Weathers is a fifth-generation Texan who entered the art world in 1993 with gallerist Eugene Binder in his Deep Ellum, Dallas space, as well as in a position with the Public Art Coordinator for the City of Dallas working on the Freedman’s Memorial Cemetery Project. A New Orleans resident since 1999, she most recently served as the Vice President and as Director of Paintings, Prints and Photography at Neal Auction Company, New Orleans during her fifteen years there.  Weathers has cataloged extensive collections, overseen exhibition installations and worked at more than 100 auctions.  A generalist, Weathers has extensive knowledge in American Furniture of the 19th century and paintings of the deep South from the 19th and 20th centuries. Following Hurricane Katrina, Weather’s expertise was crucial to clients pursuing conservation following the storm.  For the last several years, Weathers was instrumental in developing successful proposals for important and significant collections. She also oversaw condition reports and reviewed auction estimates.