Sofia Estay ’16 interned in the Latin American department of Sotheby’s.
This summer, I am interning in the Latin American Art department at Sotheby’s in New York City. Sotheby’s is a global art business and a leader in the secondary art market. Beginning as an auction house in 1744, today Sotheby’s offers private sale galleries, worldwide selling exhibitions, financing, and art education.
Working closely with a specialist in the Latin American department, I had the opportunity to spend most of my internship researching work for a private selling exhibition, Cherchez la femme: Women and Surrealism, which opens in New York on September 15th. The exhibition celebrates the women artists at the heart of the Surrealist movement, many of whom were Latin American. My research focused on sale history, provenance, and literature of the Latin American work to ensure complete cataloguing for each piece exhibited. Working on this assignment has been very exciting— articles in the New York Times and Huffington Post were recently published on the show, and a few days ago I had the privilege of holding a Frida Kahlo self-portrait in my hands.
Besides being surrounded by incredible art, my first summer interning in NYC was defined by the bridging of my American and Chilean cultures. Working bilingually in Sotheby’s Latin American Art department has been an extremely rewarding experience and gave me confidence to use my Spanish in the workplace. I am very thankful to Colgate’s alumni network and Center for Career Services for helping me pursue this opportunity.