The short story:

In 2015, I opened Shari Brownfield Fine Art after three decades in the art world: gallery curation, museum work, art brokerage, advisory, and appraisals. I hold a BFA from Concordia University in Montreal.

Outside of work, I'm involved in the Jackson Hole community, including board service with several local non-profits.

The longer story:

I was doodling long before I admitted art was going to be my life. There was a stretch where I thought I'd end up in law instead. I studied Painting and Art History for my BFA, with a minor in Philosophy, and somewhere in there I got hooked on art collecting. My parents weren't thrilled, but I drained my savings anyway on a lithograph by Antoni Tàpies, my favorite artist at the time. The first artwork I purchased wiped out my 19-year-old self's bank account. I couldn't afford to frame it for months, and worked multiple jobs through art school to make it work.

I've worn a lot of hats over the past three decades: from gallery assistant, crate builder, museum shop manager, artist agent, director, appraiser, and eventually art advisor, at galleries across Canada and the US. But the real satisfaction has always come from working directly with clients, using everything I've picked up along the way to understand what they're actually looking for and help them find it. I think of the job as part hunter, part gatherer, part educator. And I'll admit it: I'm an unapologetic art geek. Get me talking about a piece of art, or the market around it, and I won't stop.

Outside the office, I'm active in the Jackson Hole community. I currently serve on the board of the Center for the Arts. In the past I have served on the boards of other fantastic local organizations, including Community Safety Network, the Wyoming Committee for the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Art Association of Jackson Hole, and Center of Wonder.