In Hudson Yards after Frieze New York
A background built for art advisory.
Karen Boyer grew up around artists. Her mother was a sculptor, and from an early age, Karen understood something most people spend years trying to learn: what we choose to live with shapes how we experience the world.
Art history was her favorite part of her studies at UC Berkeley and later at the Sorbonne in Paris. Still, she started out building an entirely different career, first in law, then in hedge funds and capital raising. But along the way, she was quietly collecting art and deepening her understanding of the art world.
Eventually, the thing she loved most became her life’s work.
In 2009, Karen left finance to work in a gallery, immersing herself in the art market from the inside. A year later, she founded her art advisory, combining her backgrounds in law, finance, and collecting with firsthand market knowledge.
That combination of experiences continues to shape how she advises clients today.
Serge Alain Nitegeka, Colour & Form LV, 2018 Installation
Trusted Guidance in a Complex Art World
Today, Karen Boyer advises a small group of individuals, families, and select businesses across New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and internationally.
Some clients are building serious collections, while others are buying their first meaningful work. Many simply want the confidence that comes from having a trusted advisor inside a world that can feel opaque, complex, and difficult to navigate.
Karen’s guidance is deeply personal and highly informed.
She attends the art fairs that matter and maintains longstanding relationships with galleries, artists, collectors, and auction specialists around the world.
Her background in law and finance gives her a perspective that's rare in this field. She understands both the emotional side of collecting and the financial realities that sophisticated clients care about. While art can be an important asset, Karen's approach begins with quality, significance, and personal connection. She knows how to evaluate value beyond hype, how to navigate discretion, and how to think long-term.
Most importantly, she knows how to help people buy art they genuinely want to live with.
Carlos Alfonzo, Untitled (Ballerina with Dumbbells), 1986 at LnS Gallery in Miami
Her philosophy is simple:
Buy what you love, not what everyone else is buying or what happens to be having a moment.
Buy what stays interesting and what keeps revealing itself over time.
The strongest collections are personal before they are impressive.
With Franklin Sirmans at the Opening of Ken Griffin's Basquiats at Perez Art Museum Miami
Legacy
Karen's work often extends beyond acquisitions to include museum placements, estate planning, and broader legacy considerations. She has helped place works with institutions including ICA Miami, Perez Art Museum, and Tel Aviv Museum, and regularly collaborates with family offices, wealth advisors, and attorneys when art becomes part of a larger generational conversation.
UC Berkeley (Rhetoric) · Sorbonne (art history) · Fordham Law School (NY Bar)
Former Attorney and Hedge Fund Executive
Executive Member, Association of Professional Art Advisors (APAA)
Featured in The New York Times, Bloomberg, Barron's, Artnet News, and Vanity Fair
Based in Miami. In New York monthly. Regularly in Los Angeles, Madrid, and beyond.
Karen Boyer Collection: William Kentridge, Maria Guzman Capron and Ed Burtynsky