Founder Allison G. Marvin (née Cohen) brings a lifetime of relevant experience and perspective to Sightline. As an early observer, student and collector of contemporary art, she understands what it means to live with art, assess it, be challenged by it, and cherish it. Allison enjoys a strong, national network of top-notch artists, galleries and art spaces. She is based in Washington, D.C. and travels regularly to New York City, Miami, L.A., and other cities to take in major art shows, fairs and private collections.
Allison grew up in the art world. Her mother and father — an art writer/independent curator and a lawyer/painter respectively — are long-time collectors of contemporary art. Allison graduated magna cum laude from Haverford College in 1993, where she studied Comparative Literature and Art History with a focus on American and European modern and contemporary art. Her own collection includes nationally and internationally known painters and photographers.
Allison organizes art events, such as open houses, meet-the-artist dinner parties, and solo shows, to which all clients are invited. She serves on the Board of Directors of Transformer, a non-profit, artist-centered visual arts organization in D.C. In 2008, Allison was a member of the Society for the Encouragement of Contemporary Art (SECA) at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, a group that works closely with curators to identify the best new examples of contemporary art and to produce the highly respected biennial SECA Art Award and its associated exhibition at the museum.
Allison also runs a solo legal practice specializing in intellectual property, art and business law. She has published articles on copyright and Internet law and has led legal programs for entities such as the American Association of Museums, the Smithsonian Institution, the American Society of Appraisers, the Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts, and the D.C. Bar.
