​The Art Dealers Association of America has confirmed that it has appointed Cheim and Read’s vice president Adam Sheffer as its president.
The decision was confirmed at an annual board meeting on Thursday (September 24th).
Mr Scheffer begins his new role with immediate effect, succeeding Dorsey Waxter, who had previously been in the role since 2012.
He comes into the position with some 25 years of experience, having also worked as a director for three ADAA members, such as Robert Miller Gallery, Danese Gallery, and Mary Boone Gallery.
As well as Mr Scheffer, the organisation has also appointed a number of directors, including  Francis Beatty (of Richard L. Feigen & Co.), Valerie Carberry (of Richard Gray Gallery), Susan Dunne (of Pace Gallery), Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn (of Salon 94), Fredericka Hunter (of Texas Gallery), Bo Joseph (of Allan Stone Projects), Barbara Krakow (of Barbara Krakow Gallery), and gallery owners Barbara Mathes and Anthony Meier.

Strengthening ADAA’s position

Upon his appointment, Mr Sheffer told Art News that he was looking forward to building on the ADAA’s previous success, adding that it had the potential to play a vital role in the wider art world.
He said: “What I’d like to do is take the opportunity to really strengthen the position that the ADAA takes as an advocate for the vital role that [dealers] play in today’s cultural ecology.
“We do such multifaceted work that it often goes unnoticed—we produce scholarship, we do catalogues, we promote artists, we nurture careers through the ebbs and the flows and ups and downs of economic times, we work with collectors for extended periods of times and shape meaningful collections, and a lot of things that you don’t necessarily read about in the press. And I think it’s going to draw attention to all the good things that the ADAA and art dealers do.”

Stamping his authority

One of the key changes that could take be introduced as part of Sheffer’s appointment is a rethink on the presentation of the annual ADAA Art Show, which is currently held in New York every March.
In his interview, he was keen to stress that “we’re in the business of art, not in the business of art fairs,” adding the fair’s insistence on being created by and organised by art dealers for art dealers,” was to be admired.
But he is by no means resting on his laurels, stating: “One of the things that I’d really like to work on is the notion that galleries represent relationships, not merely transactions.
“We’re the people who still refer to what we do as art, not property.”