Our Company
Artvisory is an art gallery and specialised Single-Owner Auction business. We operate nationally and are based at 310 Toorak Road, South Yarra, Melbourne- in one of the areas most beautiful and iconic buildings.
Artvisory is a partnership between Amanda Swanson and Paul Sumner.
Amanda Swanson has over 25 years experience in the Australian art and design world, having managed several prestigious art galleries in Melbourne and in Sydney before working in the auction world. She holds a BA (Fashion Design) from RMIT and her extensive industry experience also includes creating and managing corporate art events and nurturing VIP client relationships.
Paul Sumner has 40 years art-world experience in Australia and in the United Kingdom. Paul worked for Christies Inc. in Australia rising to manager of their Sydney operations, before being appointed Managing Director for Sotheby's International in Australia and New Zealand. He was then re-located back to the UK, when he was appointed by their European board as Managing Director for Sotheby's in London (Olympia) and Paul has worked in the art auction and gallery world ever since.
Amanda and Paul established Artvisory in 2018 as a bespoke company offering highly personalised and expert service, both with our Gallery and as the most experienced specialists in the country for Single-Owner auctions.
Testimonials
The winding up of John Dunn Antiques was a monumental decision for me,as with any family business emotions are always to the fore. I had gone through a process of selecting someone who was professional and had empathy for not only the quality stock but for the business reputation gained over 64 years. Paul was a stand out from day one,he said to me "if you leave it all to me and follow my advice,it will be an outstanding auction" It turned out to be the best advice . Paul,Amanda and his staff worked tirelessly over three months ,researching ,photographing and cataloguing .They produced a truly brilliant catalogue which was expertly marketed to past clients,new Australian and international clients. The shop was decorated by Paul and his team over two weeks and for me that was the hardest part of the process as I had always arranged displays at the shop , Antique Fairs and exhibitions .....was it going to have the Dunn look? I didn't need to worry as many of my friends indicated it was the best the gallery had looked and I agreed.In the end Paul was a star on the rostrum and produced amazing results from a six hour auction I would highly recommend Paul and Amanda to anyone considering selling a valuable collection
The Burke Family engaged Paul Sumner of Artvisory to market the R F Burke Collection to the global porcelain and antique circles. Paul oversaw every aspect of presenting the collection for auction including the logistics, safely preserving the collection, promotion and preparation of the most exquisite catalogue. Paul utilised his connections and various platforms to market it internationally, including the United Kingdom, Europe, the United States of America, as well as Australia-wide. Over several nights, the auctions were executed with the utmost professionalism and integrity. Artvisory always paid due consideration which ensured the realisation of the family’s confidence in it achieving the desired results. Paul was always patient and he conducted business with diplomacy. To personally witness the auctions, confirmed to the family that the collection could not have been better entrusted to anyone other than Paul, Amanda and the team. It was such a smooth operation which was ultimately auctioned in their beautiful galleries, that is, Artvisory.
"The sale of Rosemont and the disposal and distribution of all of the contents was more than just a "contents auction" for us. We had many stakeholders and timelines and complications - as I am sure many similar sales would. Paul and Amanda and their team handled the sale and it's complications with great composure, professionalism and understanding. We received very good prices and Paul and the team found buyers for all of the lots even the more specific pieces. I would entirely recommend Artvisory and will be using them again in the future"
“ Paul and Amanda handled the sale of my late mother's estate with a single-owner auction viewed in Toorak in Melbourne. I chose Paul and Amanda due to their integrity, long-standing reputation and expertise with single owner collections, and they managed the auction successfully and with great dignity. I am delighted to recommend them and their company Artvisory.”