General Manager, Art Business

Masterworks•New York, NY

10d•Onsite

About The Position

Masterworks is a fintech platform that allows anyone to invest in SEC-qualified shares of multi-million dollar paintings by names like Banksy, Basquiat, and Picasso. Since launching in April 2019, we have securitized over $1.5 billion in world-class artworks. Masterworks has been covered by major media publications such as The New York Times, CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times. Our employees are based out of our offices at 1 World Trade Center in the Financial District of New York City. Do you thrive on disruption? Do you want to live at the cutting edge of finance, technology, and art? Are you passionate about democratizing alternative investments? Do you enjoy meaningful work that has a noticeable impact on business performance? If you answered "Yes" to any of the above, we'd love to hear from you! Masterworks operates a securitized art investment platform and, alongside it, a growing set of art-market businesses. For this case, the “Art Business” comprises three functions: Private Sales. Brokering artworks for private clients. Portfolio Acquisitions & Consignments. Sourcing and executing transactions for works to be listed on the investment platform, and selling works on behalf of investors, whether through the gallery or via consignment to other galleries. Collection Management. Storage, condition, conservation, insurance, and logistics for roughly $1.1B of held works. The Head of Art Business will own all three functions: managing the team, running Acquisitions & Consignments, and owning Collection Management with operational excellence, and growing Brokerage into a leading secondary-market gallery business.

Requirements

10+ years in a leadership role at a leading gallery, auction house, or art business with specific revenue responsibility
At least 3 years managing or leading a sales team, with a desire to continue in a leadership rather than sales role
Understanding of the Post-War and Contemporary Art market, especially $1M+ segment
Comfortable overseeing specialized functions (e.g., collection logistics, conservation) — trusting expert judgment day-to-day while maintaining accountability for outcomes and knowing when to step in
Strong instincts for people — who to trust, how to develop talent, and how to read the advisor and collector landscape
Direct, low-ego communication style; you give clear feedback and take it the same way
Highly organized, proactive, and comfortable operating across both the qualitative and quantitative sides of the business
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Must be eligible for full-time US employment — no exceptions
Must be able to work from our NY office — this is not a remote role

Responsibilities

Building, managing, coaching, and developing a 20+ sales and operations team at varying levels of seniority
Setting the strategy for all aspects of the art teams, including how to differentiate as a leading secondary market gallery
Own compensation structure, goal-setting, promotions
Building and refining processes for deal flow, counterparty vetting, business development and outreach, and negotiation
Oversee Collection Management (storage, conservation, insurance, logistics) while giving the Collection Manager autonomy over day-to-day execution.
Collaborating across departments including Product and Research to support acquisitions and sales strategy
Managing any real estate expansions and operations related to the gallery
Maintaining a strong working knowledge of the market: recent sales, pricing trends, collector and advisor activity
Driving team goals, adjusting business strategy as needed
Unlock new revenue opportunities, deal sourcing channels, and client acquisition strategies
Get fully up to speed on Masterworks sales and acquisitions criteria, process, budget, and the Masterworks collection
Establish clear performance frameworks and near-term goals through 2027
Build trust and working relationships with each current member of the art team