FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT

Robin Rosenberg

My “art story” begins when I was just a kid living in Toronto. I would look through art books until the late hours of the night, literally, until my eyes closed. It wasn’t long, before I began taking studio art courses in practically every medium known, including painting, drawing, sculpting, printmaking, and ceramics. During high school, I was never that brainy physics student, but I gravitated to art history, and I knew that this was the area of study I would pursue in university.

I began my undergrad degree at the University of Toronto. During this time, I met my husband-to-be, Brahm (who is still a great inspiration to me). Inevitably, I followed Brahm from Toronto to Montreal where he had a promising business venture.

Soon after settling into my new hometown, I registered at McGill University to continue my studies in art history. While there, my professor suggested I could grow into a capable and talented art consultant. I loved the idea, began networking, and met many fascinating people who worked in the arts. One was Carole Tanenbaum, who at the time, was an exceptionally successful art advisor in Toronto. Carole took me under her wing, taught me the ropes of the art biz and I am forever grateful.

It was now the mid-1980’s, no internet or social media, making it difficult for emerging artists to gain visibility beyond their home base. Carole and I found a way to promote local artists by exchanging their artwork from our respective cities. Carole would sell the work of Montreal artists to Toronto collectors and corporations, and I would do the same in Montreal. This not only benefitted artists but collectors as well. What an all-around win!

During this time, I was effectively selling art to corporations, that had their head offices in Montreal. In essence, The Royal Bank of Canada, Rio Tinto Alcan, Hydro Quebec, Teleglobe Canada, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, BCE, CP Rail, and Microsoft Canada were all my clients.

Business was good, but came to a sudden halt due to the financial downturn, when corporations stopped buying art.

After a few years, a friend and colleague Lillian Mauer, the founder of Art Speaks, invited me to join a fundraising committee as a volunteer for a small non-profit arts centre called The Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts (today The Segal Centre for Performing Arts). I jumped on the opportunity to be a volunteer fundraiser!

It wasn’t long before I was invited to become a Board Member and shortly thereafter, I accepted a professional position as the Director of Development. A definite perk of the job was heading up the International Art Tours, where we led a group of art lovers and philanthropists to different cities where we visited the private homes of some of the world’s top 200 art collectors.

After almost ten years of fundraising, it was time for me to return to the art world. Through all the networks and relationships that I built and maintained over the years; I had come to know many serious collectors. From there, my new business Robin Rosenberg Fine Art catapulted into a resource for buyers and sellers of quality fine art.

What motivates me is the hunt for art that our clients are looking for. It challenges my resourcefulness and it allows me to discover artists who I may otherwise never have known. I so enjoy meeting new people who love art as much as I do. Making them happy by creating spaces for them that enrich their lives is the icing on the cake!

Whether you’re a seasoned art collector or dipping your toes into this beautiful, colourful world for the first time, I am here to make your buying and selling process a breeze.

I look forward to working together!