David Redden

David Redden
David Redden speaking at podium Redden in 2003
Born	David Normand Redden Template:Birth date Canton, China
Died	May 11, 2024(2024-05-11) (aged 75) Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, U.S.
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Wesleyan University
Occupation(s)	Auctioneer and philanthropist
Known for	Auctioneer and Vice-Chairman of Sotheby's
Board member of	Black Rock Forest The Olana Partnership American Trust for the British Library Hudson Highlands Nature Museum Scenic Hudson

David Normand Redden (January 23, 1949 – May 11, 2024) was a prominent American auctioneer who dedicated his entire professional life, spanning from 1974 until 2016, to Sotheby's. During his tenure, he held the position of vice-chairman and earned the distinction of being Sotheby's longest-serving auctioneer. Additionally, he led several boards of notable preservation and educational institutions in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Early life

Born on January 23, 1949, in Canton, China (currently Guangzhou), Redden's father was serving as an American consul for the U.S. State Department at the time. Within nine months, as the Red Army approached Canton during the Chinese Communist Revolution, the family was evacuated by the State Department and relocated to Haifa, Israel. Subsequently, his father took on roles as American consul general in London and Rome. Redden spent much of his formative years and schooling abroad, completing his high school education at St. Stephen's School in Rome. He went on to graduate with a degree in Art History from Wesleyan University, where he was actively involved in anti-Vietnam War protests.

Auction career

Redden embarked on his auction profession in 1974 at Sotheby's as a catalog trainee, motivated by his enthusiasm for collecting. By the following year, he had become an auctioneer. From his early days until the mid-1990s, Redden pioneered several innovative auction categories for Sotheby's, introducing specialties such as “space memorabilia”, along with auctions for “baseball memorabilia,” comic books, arcade machines, and computerized animation art.” In the late 1970s, he was appointed director of PB-84, Sotheby’s satellite auction house specializing in lower-priced and unconventional collectibles. Later, during the late 1990s, he also played a key role in shaping Sotheby’s online presence when he became chairman of Sothebys.com. Redden gained recognition primarily as both a manager and auctioneer for many of Sotheby’s most distinguished live auctions. From February 2000 until his retirement in 2016, he served as a vice-chairman at Sotheby’s, and held the position of Worldwide Chairman of Sotheby’s Books and Manuscripts.

Among Redden’s notable auctions were two first editions of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, collections belonging to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Empress Josephine’s copy of Pierre-Joseph Redouté’s Les Liliacees featuring original watercolors, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s estate, multiple auctions for Walt Disney Company; “Sue,” known as the most complete and best-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex fossil ever found, the most valuable coin ever sold—the 1933 double eagle; America’s first printed book—the Bay Psalm Book; the world’s rarest stamp—the British Guiana 1c magenta; Albert Einstein’s manuscript on Special Relativity, a moon lander still resting on the lunar surface along with three returned space capsules and lunar rocks; a copy of Magna Carta now preserved in the National Archives; two landmark book sales from H. Bradley Martin’s library and Garden Ltd. Collection; Nelson Bunker Hunt’s collection of Ancient Coins, four Revolutionary War battle flags, George Catlin Native American portraits amassed by Benjamin O’Fallon, and Bomberg Talmud volumes from Valmadonna Library. Several publications have chronicled these auctions including Tyrannosaurus Sue by Steve Fiffer, Illegal Tender by David Tripp, and The One-Cent Magenta by James Barron.

Additional significant auctions included: The Barry Halper Collection featuring Baseball Memorabilia, The Washington-Lafayette Cincinnati Medal, James Naismith's original manuscript outlining The Rules Of Basketball, The Guidon flag from Battle Of Little Bighorn, Robert Kennedy’s copy of Lincoln’s signed Emancipation Proclamation, and treasure recovered from SS Central America.

In private sales, Redden facilitated acquisition of Gilbert Stuart’s Lansdowne portrait depicting George Washington by Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Martin Luther King Jr.’s papers to Atlanta city authorities and nine Fabergé Imperial Easter Eggs formerly owned by Forbes family.<refs><refs/> He also contributed to reuniting missing portions of Mark Twain's manuscript for Huckleberry Finn.<refs><refs/> At retirement, Redden held distinction as Sotheby’s longest-tenured auctioneer.<refs><refs/>

Collusion scandal

During the 1990s, Sotheby's and Christie's engaged in secret agreements concerning auction fees and other operational practices. Redden, who was initially unaware of these illegal actions, became the first employee from either auction house to publicly condemn the unlawful conduct carried out by the companies' top executives.

Acting

Redden's acting credits include:

• Jane Austen in Manhattan
• Gossip Girl: Season 3, Episode 3 titled "The Lost Boy"
• A Late Quartet
• W.E.

Boards and philanthropy

Redden has held the position of chairman for several organizations, including Scenic Hudson and Black Rock Forest. The latter established the David Redden Conservation Science Fund, which provides grants to researchers across all experience levels and supports educational lectures and seminars. He has also led the Olana Partnership, the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum, the American Trust for the British Library, and St. Stephen's School in Rome, Italy. Additionally, he has contributed his leadership to boards such as the Hudson Highlands Land Trust, Chelsea Square Conservancy, Friends of Hudson River Park, Madison Square Boys & Girls Club, and the Theater Institute at Storm King. While chairing Scenic Hudson, he spearheaded preservation initiatives that raised $50 million for land acquisitions and conservation efforts. Together with his wife, he has granted conservation easements on part of their Storm King Mountain estate to the Hudson Highlands Land Trust. Over many years, Redden was a highly sought-after auctioneer for charitable events.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

In 2017, Redden received a diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. This progressive condition has hindered him from finalizing the extensive editing work on his Private Diary of a Sotheby’s Auctioneer. To support ALS research and treatment efforts at Columbia University, his family established the David Redden ALS Fund in 2019.

By October 2022, as ALS had rendered Redden fully paralyzed, he volunteered to participate in a pioneering long-term study focused on brain-machine interface technology. During an eight-hour surgical procedure involving a team of twelve surgeons, Synchron Corporation implanted a stent embedded with electrodes into his brain. One month post-operation, the device became functional, and training commenced. As of February 2024, after approximately one hundred training sessions, Redden has achieved the ability to operate a computer solely through thought.

Getty Acquires Redden Papers

The J. Paul Getty Trust revealed in 2022 that it had acquired Redden’s auction-related documents, including his Diary. These materials are to remain sealed until 2034.

Personal life and death

Redden married Jeannette Andreasen in 1978; she currently serves as a Commissioner for the Palisades Interstate Park. Together they had two children, Stephen and Clare.

Redden passed away at age 75 on May 11, 2024, in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, due to complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a condition diagnosed nine years earlier.