Karen Keane

Furniture, Folk Art and Decorative Arts

Updated: 7.17.09

As CEO of Skinner, Inc., Karen Keane oversees the operation of one of the leading premier auction houses in the nation. Under her skillful direction, Skinner has grown from a New England specialty auction house to a viable player in the international art and antiques marketplace. Karen was instrumental in Skinner's establishing a world-class auction gallery in downtown Boston, and the company's expansion into specialty areas including fine musical instruments, science and technology, rare books and manuscripts, and Judaica.

Although most recognized for her business acumen, Karen is also a highly versatile art and antiques specialist with a broad knowledge in a number of areas of fine and decorative arts. Surrounded by fine art and antiques at an early age, she brings a lifetime of experience and passion to her appreciation of American and European furniture and decorative arts, Asian arts, American and European paintings, sculpture and more.

Karen holds a master's degree from Boston University, is a regular contributor to art and antiques publications, symposiums, and Web sites, including the Boston Globe, Boston Magazine, Art & Auction, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Antiques Magazine. Karen also lectures and conducts benefit auctions and appraisals for major fine-art and nonprofit institutions nationwide. A strong supporter of the arts and a vocal advocate for the preservation of antiquities, Karen is a benefit auctioneer for the AIDS Action Committee, Massachusetts College of Art, and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. Karen is a corporate member of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and a major supporter of the American Folk Art Museum. She also serves on the board of overseers for the DeCordova Museum in Lincoln, Massachusetts.