About Heritage Auctions - Rare Art Pieces

Ed Beardsley is Heritage Auction’s Vice President and Managing Director, Fine & Decorative Arts.  With over 15 years of auction experience, Ed brings a special focus to Heritage’s newer auction categories, including Fine & Decorative Arts, Luxury Accessories, Fine Wine, Fine Minerals, and Estate and Special Collections.  He is also involved in Heritage’s strategic growth through new offices and showrooms in New York and Beverly Hills.  Ed enjoys being a part of one of the industry’s most friendly, approachable, and growing auction houses.

Rachel Peart, a Kansas native, is a Consignment Director in the Fine Arts Department at Heritage. She joined the company in 2007, starting out in the Historical Department. After a year in her position as the Consignment Coordinator for Rare Books, Rachel became the Project Manager for the Fine & Decorative Arts Department, serving in that capacity for almost two years before becoming a Lead Cataloger in the department.  In June 2010, she was promoted to Associate Consignment Director specializing in Vintage and Contemporary Photography.  She recently transferred to Heritage’s New York office with a promotion to Consignment Director in Fine Art.  Rachel received her BFA in Art History from the University of Kansas and interned with the Registrar at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City.

Frank Hettig is Heritage Auction's Director of Modern & Contemporary Art.  In addition to more than twelve years of auction experience, Frank has a well-regarded reputation as a curator, critic and connoisseur of contemporary art. Trained as an art historian at the University of Amsterdam, Frank advised on exhibitions and museum catalogues and has lectured at a number of colleges and universities both in the US and overseas. At both the Goethe-Institut Los Angeles (German Cultural Institute) and the Consulate General of the Netherlands, he conceptualized and coordinated a variety of international cultural events including lectures and symposia, guest artist exhibitions and performing arts programs. As an independent art critic he has written reviews and features in English, German and Dutch for publications such as Archis, Art/Text, Artforum, Bauwelt, Forum International, das Kunstwerk, Kunstforum and Metropolis, among others. Frank has handled auctions of many private collections, corporate art collections including a Fortune 100 Company, the Estate of Dr. Edmund Pillsbury among others; and is also overseeing Heritage’s growth in Latin-American Art and Chinese Art.

With a Master's Degree from the Cooper Hewitt Museum's program in Decorative Arts History, Karen's career has led her down numerous paths including the development of exhibitions and collections of modern design as well as into teaching. She entered the field working with renowned museum collections, including the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Honing her eye and expanding  her knowledge through extensive travel and exposure to important European collections enhanced her roles in development and purchasing for galleries in Birmingham, MI, Chicago and Atlanta before joining the Silver and Decorative Arts Departments at Heritage in 2007.

Alissa is well versed on the art market, having managed multi-million dollar collections nationwide, helping collectors find premier paintings by important California and Western artists; and having worked both at major California and New York auction houses and alongside some of the country’s most respected dealers.  Alissa received her BA in Art History with an emphasis in the Italian Renaissance, then pursued her Master’s in American Fine and Decorative Arts. After spending several years in New York, Alissa decided to return to her native grounds to specialize in the great masters of the American West, working in the California Painting department of another prominent auction house and as Director of a highly recognized California Art Gallery. “I realized early on that this niche of the market is filled with passionate collectors and I feel fortunate to continue to build relationships with those buyers ” In addition to her role as Director, California Art, Alissa acts as one of the company’s auctioneers.

Mark Prendergast earned his degree in Art History from Vanderbilt University and began his career in the arts working with a national dealer in private sales of 20th Century American Art. Joining Christie's in 1998 and advancing during a decade tenure to the position of Vice President, he was instrumental in bringing to market many prominent works of art, collections and estates. Based in the Heritage Houston office, he serves as Director of Trusts & Estates, providing assistance to fiduciary professionals in all aspects of appraising and liquidating their clients' tangible assets. Since joining Heritage Auctions, Mark has brought to market important estate collections of Western Art, Jewelry, Timepieces, Vintage Guitars and Firearms.  He regularly represents Heritage at conferences and provides speaking presentations to professional estate planning groups throughout the country.  From initial contact to final settlement, he strives to make the appraisal and auction process seamless and timely.

Brandon Kennedy earned his Bachelors of Fine Art in Painting & Drawing from The University of North Texas in 1996 and then graduated with a Masters of Fine Art in Sculpture from the Yale School of Art in 1998. Since then, he  has worked in a number of galleries, non-profit spaces, and museums in various capacities.  In addition to his time spent working in art institutions, he has also exhibited, curated, and written about art and book culture. After a seven-year stint in the independent & collectible book trade in New York City, Brandon returned to the Dallas area in 2010 and was hired as a cataloguer in the Rare Books department at Heritage Auctions later that same year.  In 2012, with his great interest and knowledge in Modern & Contemporary Art, he transferred to the department where he now works with clients as a Consignment Director.

After several years assisting Heritage Auctions on retainer, Brian Roughton joined the team as Director of American & European Paintings in January, 2012.  With 45 years experience as the owner and president of Roughton Galleries, Inc., he brings to Heritage a highly respected international reputation as an expert in both 19th & early 20th century important American and European paintings.

Mr. Roughton is distinguished for his scholarship and actively supports research in American and European art. He is currently working on the forthcoming catalogue raisonne for the works of French academic painter Leon Bazile Perrault. In addition, with Mr. Roughton’s extensive working knowledge, experience and expertise, he is an accepted authority for the works of Edouard L. Cortes, Antoine Blanchard,  Hovsep Pushman, Johann Berthelsen, and Guy C. Wiggins.

Along with his colleagues on the coasts, Mr. Roughton's goal is to assist and direct Heritage Auctions American and European Paintings department to become the house of choice for important American and European art at the highest level  and to continue his dedication to further the education of the American public regarding its artistic and cultural heritage.

Roughton is a member of several organizations including the IAGA (International Art Galleries Association), IFAA (International Fine Art Appraisers), and formerly the FADA, (Fine Art Dealers Association), where he held a position on the Board of Directors and Vetting Committee.