Sarah Vivanco (née Sarah R Nelson), AAA is an independent art consultant & appraiser specializing in European and American art of the 20th/ 21st Centuries. She has two decades of professional experience in the international art market on both the East and West Coasts, as well as Europe. After working in the global auction business for over fifteen years as Director, Impressionist, Modern & Contemporary Art at Bonhams San Francisco, at Sotheby’s London & New York as Specialist, Contemporary Art and at Christie’s New York, Impressionist & Modern Art, she founded Sarah R Nelson Art Advisory LLC in San Francisco in 2016.

Sarah advises collectors on new acquisitions, collection management, museum loans, and deaccessions. She provides appraisal services for private, corporate and institutional clients for insurance, fair market value, tax, and estate purposes. An expert in buying and selling at auction, Sarah offers independent advice governed by strategy, transparency, and discretion.

Working in New York, London, and San Francisco, Sarah has particular expertise in the secondary art market and has participated in historic landmark auctions such as Damien Hirst’s Beautiful Inside My Head Forever, the (RED) charity auction and the Estate of Lauren Bacall. Sarah has been recognized internationally for securing museum loans, including mention in the exhibition catalog Picasso et les femmes at Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, Germany, and Charles Howard: A Margin of Chaos at The Berkeley Art Museum and has lectured on the contemporary art market at Sotheby’s Institute, London. She also collaborated with a five-star international hotel group where she valued art collections for sixteen properties.

Originally from the Boston area, Sarah holds a Master’s degree in The History of Art from Richmond University, London, and a BA in Art History from Rollins College. She studied 20th Century European Art History at The American University of Paris and completed coursework in International Marketing within the context of the art world at Harvard University. She is an alumna of Brooks School in North Andover, MA where she serves on the school’s advisory committee for the Robert Lehman Art Center and is a member of Artadia and ArtTable, formerly on the executive committee for the northern California chapters. Sarah is a Certified Member of the Appraisers Association of America (AAA) and USPAP (The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice) compliant. She holds both United States and Australian citizenship and is soon to have Spanish / EU residency.