About Modern Artifact
An Independent Perspective on the Secondary Art Market
Modern Artifact was built by Ryan and Elizabeth, a husband and wife who have spent two decades working in the art business together. There is no single moment when Modern Artifact began. It developed gradually alongside their careers and their involvement in many different parts of the art world, from buying and selling artwork to artist management, gallery relationships, exhibitions, art fairs, collector relationships, consignments and the technology that supports the business of art.
Today, Modern Artifact owns more than 500 works of art and adds approximately 20 to 30 works to its inventory each month. For Ryan and Elizabeth, however, art has never been limited to the business itself. It is part of how they spend their time, where they travel and what they continue to study and discuss.
The People Behind Modern Artifact
Ryan brings two decades of experience in the art market, with a background that spans acquisitions, sales, artist management and strategic relationships with galleries and collectors. His entrepreneurial experience has also shaped the way he approaches the business, particularly his interest in finding better ways to connect artwork with collectors and in building the systems that support the buying and selling of art. He has developed internal technology for Modern Artifact that helps manage inventory, consignments, documentation and other aspects of the business.
Elizabeth has a background in contemporary art, international logistics and sales, and is a graduate of Sotheby’s Contemporary Art program. Her interest lies particularly in the research and presentation of artwork, from understanding an artist’s career and the history of an individual work to developing the written and visual material that allows collectors to understand what they are considering.
Bob brings more than 30 years of gallery experience to Modern Artifact, including years as a gallery owner and manager. His knowledge of gallery operations, artwork handling and the practical details of preparing and selling artwork is an important part of Modern Artifact’s operation. He also has a background in software development and was an early pioneer in bringing the gallery experience online, including putting a gallery’s live feed online for virtual art showings at a time when that was still a new concept.
Together, Ryan, Elizabeth and Bob bring complementary experience in the art market, contemporary art research, gallery operations, technology and the practical business of buying and selling artwork. That range of knowledge allows Modern Artifact to approach each work from several perspectives, whether the company is acquiring artwork, working with a consignor, advising a collector or developing an exhibition.
Art Outside the Gallery
For Ryan and Elizabeth, their interest in art continues when they travel. Museums, exhibitions and art shows are often part of their trips, whether they are in Paris, London, Barcelona, Tokyo, Dubai, Mexico City or somewhere closer to home. Over the years, they have visited museums, galleries and collections throughout the United States and abroad, experiences that have continued to influence how they look at, research and present art.
Seeing how a museum approaches an artist, discovering an exhibition that changes their understanding of a particular body of work or simply spending an afternoon looking closely at art all contribute to the perspective they bring back to Modern Artifact. Their work is informed not only by the commercial art market, but by the broader experience of living with art and continuing to learn about it.
A Different Kind of Gallery
Modern Artifact is a secondary-market art gallery, but the company was never designed to operate like a traditional gallery. Ryan and Elizabeth recognized early that the internet could allow a specialized art business to reach collectors far beyond the geographic limits of a physical storefront, and they chose to invest in the infrastructure that would make that possible.
Rather than putting most of the gallery’s resources into a prominent address, Modern Artifact has invested in professional photography, research, search visibility, targeted advertising, technology and access to major art marketplaces. Ryan and Elizabeth sometimes joke that their Park Avenue is online, which captures the basic philosophy behind the business: the gallery’s resources are directed toward presenting artwork well and putting it in front of the collectors most likely to appreciate it.
That approach has allowed Modern Artifact to maintain a substantial owned inventory while reaching art collectors throughout the United States and internationally. Because the gallery owns more than 500 works directly, it has the ability to make acquisition decisions based on its own understanding of the market and to build an inventory with a particular point of view rather than simply listing whatever happens to come through the door.
The gallery also works with collectors who are looking for something specific, drawing on years of relationships and market knowledge to locate works that may not otherwise be easy to find.
Buying and Selling Artwork
For collectors looking to sell, Modern Artifact offers both direct purchase and art consignment. When an owner wants a straightforward transaction, the gallery can make a direct purchase using recent comparable sales and current market information to determine an offer, providing the certainty of a sale without the waiting period and additional logistics that can accompany a traditional auction.
For owners who are willing to wait for the right buyer, consignment offers another approach. Consigned artwork receives the same attention that Modern Artifact gives its owned inventory, including professional photography, research, writing, targeted marketing and placement across the gallery’s network and major online art marketplaces. The objective is to understand the work and its likely market, present it thoughtfully and give it the exposure necessary to reach the right collector.
That distinction is particularly important with significant artwork. A successful transaction depends on more than knowing what similar works have sold for; it also requires an understanding of the artist, the particular work, its history and the collector market surrounding it. Modern Artifact approaches art buying, selling and consignment with that broader context in mind.
Part of the Larger Art World
Modern Artifact has developed relationships with collectors, artists, galleries, estates and institutions throughout its years in the business. The gallery has participated in major art fairs, including Art Miami, and has worked on large-scale exhibitions and installations.
Ryan’s work with artists has included helping develop their businesses behind the scenes, from gallery relationships and market strategy to the systems needed to manage an expanding body of work. One recent example is Hunt Slonem’s Huntopia, a large-scale exhibition and installation at the Dallas Arboretum in 2026.
Modern Artifact and Ryan have also been featured or quoted by major news, business and art publications and media organizations, including ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, BBC, Reuters, Bloomberg, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Guardian, NPR, Smithsonian and The Art Newspaper. Modern Artifact is also represented across major online art marketplaces, including Artsy and 1stDibs, giving its inventory access to collectors who may never encounter the gallery through a traditional storefront.
What Has Stayed the Same
The art business has changed considerably since Ryan and Elizabeth entered the market. Technology has transformed how collectors discover artwork, how galleries communicate with their audiences and how information about individual works is researched and shared. Modern Artifact has changed along with it, developing new systems and ways of reaching collectors while maintaining the same interest in the artwork itself.
Ryan and Elizabeth continue to enjoy learning about artists, researching individual works and finding pieces that may have been overlooked or underappreciated. They are interested in the history behind a work, the circumstances in which it was made and the particular qualities that make a collector want to live with it.
After two decades, that remains at the center of Modern Artifact. Whether the gallery is acquiring a single work, helping place an important collection, working with an artist, researching a piece or developing an exhibition, the approach is consistent: understand the artwork, respect the people behind it and find the audience that will appreciate it.
