James Zemaitis
Director of Museum Relations
James Zemaitis is a Curator and Director of Museum Relations at R & Company in New York. He specializes in American and European historical design with an emphasis on furniture. He has curated exhibitions at the gallery ranging from British plywood of the 1930s to American craft of the 1960s, and he provides museum services to the gallery’s roster of contemporary makers.
From 2003 to 2013, James was a Senior Vice President at Sotheby’s, where he produced over fifty auctions and catalogues of 20th and 21st Century Design and Craft. Prior to
Sotheby’s, James served as Director of 20 th Century Design at Phillips, where he is credited with developing and popularizing the modern secondary auction market for postwar and contemporary design.
James left Sotheby’s in 2013 to serve as the Visiting Curator of Decorative Arts at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. In 2016, after curating exhibitions at Friedman Benda in New York and Longhouse Reserve on Long Island, James joined the team at R & Company. In addition to his curatorial work, James advises a diverse group of private clients and museums on acquisitions, exhibitions and market strategy.
James received his B.A. in Art History from Oberlin College, where he has been a member of the Visiting Committee of the Allen Memorial Art Museum since 2007. He currently serves on the Collections Committee of Manitoga: The Russel Wright Design Center; and the Historical Preservation and Open Space Committees of Mendham Township, New Jersey, where he lives with his family.