This Art World CEO Credits Her Success To Putting Relationships First

by Rimma Boshernitsan

Claudia Altman-Siegel believes relationships are at the core of her success. As an entrepreneur and gallerist, she’s devoted her career to building people up. Whether that’s her roster of artists or her dedicated team, she is a creative problem solver, deliberately and intentionally thinking about the growth of her business. Based in San Francisco, her eponymous gallery, Altman Siegel, recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary. Through it all, she has managed to lead a stable of creatives in an eloquent and intentional way.

Raised by an artist mother and an architect father, Altman-Siegel was always curious about artists and art. While growing up in Boston, Altman-Siegel visited the Museum of Fine Arts often. “I had a sketchbook and I drew pictures in it, and doodled through all my classes. It was always a part of my life,” she recalls. As she began to work more closely with artists, she realized how unstable and lonely the profession could be. Realizing that the path of an artist was not for her, Altman-Siegel studied art history at Barnard College, in New York. After graduation, she went to work for one of the top galleries in the art world, New York’s Luhring Augustine. There, she climbed the ranks, from security guard to registrar to, ultimately, senior director, the highest rank beyond being a partner in the  gallery, Altman-Siegel’s favorite part of the job was the relationships she built with artists. For 10 years, she worked with prominent artists like Christopher Wool, Pipilotti Rist, and others. In 2007, after an accomplished career as a senior director, Altman-Siegel moved to San Francisco. “I went to college in New York and had lived in New York all of my adult life, so I wanted to see what it was like somewhere else,” she says.

Having  just moved, she had a fresh perspective on the San Francisco art scene: Altman-Siegel noticed that San Francisco had a need for a gallery with an international point of view. “There's an amazing museum in San Francisco, great collectors and really good artists, yet there was only a handful of galleries. There weren’t any galleries doing what I know how to do, which is to focus on the  international art market,” she says. And so, in 2009, Altman Siegel, the gallery, opened its doors. After seven years in downtown San Francisco, she relocated the gallery to the then new arts complex, Minnesota Street Project in the DogPatch neighborhood of San Francisco, making her gallery the largest commercial gallery space in the city.

Establishing a roster of artists wasn’t difficult for Altman-Siegel—she had spent much time in the New York art scene and had kept a list of artist friends in the industry who had been working on interesting projects. When the time came to select and sign her first artists, she reached out to many of her friends: Sarah Vanderbeek, Trevor Paglen, Matt Keegan, and Garth Weiser, all who have now been with Altman-Siegel  for more than 10 years.

In running a successful business, Altman-Siegel humbly credits her team of creatives. “My staff is amazing. They are dedicated, good at what they do, and fun to be with. We have our artists come in with crazy ideas, and, on a daily basis, we have to figure out, How do we do this? How can we make this idea a reality?" states Altman-Siegel. She has come to understand that, in her business, it’s not just about the people—the staff, the collectors— but about the artists, their visions, and bringing their voices to the masses. This is where Altman-Siegel holds her greatest passion, being the conduit between the business and the creative. “I'm really good with artists. I love and have grown up with them and I understand their insecurities and their creative processes. I’m really good at talking them through problems. That's where I excel. The thing that I've had to learn has been the business, which has been more difficult,” she says.

For Altman-Siegel, collaboration is the first mark of good leadership. Forming a new team when she launched her gallery meant setting up an  infrastructure that not only enhanced her ability to lead but also created enough of a foundation for her team to do their best work. “I had to learn to be more of a boss in a set structure. Initially, I thought I would appear to be bossy or just be uncomfortable, but I’ve realized that structure makes everyone comfortable. It helps them know where their limits are and what they're supposed to do,” she says.

Making ideas happen is rewarding and, ultimately, has led Altman-Siegel to expand her gallery and to think about growth in a new way that paints a long trajectory for both her gallery and her career. As in any business, challenges always come up, and every time she has been faced with one, she is catapulted to the next growth stage in her business. Even now, she seems unphased by what many would find to be a very stressful business. “The process is incremental; there is always a way forward and there is always a creative solution to be had,” she believes.

In a world where commerce takes precedence, Altman-Siegel leads with her heart. Relationships are at the epicenter of how she operates, be it with artists, her team, or her clients and peers. Here’s her advice on running a successful business and how to confidently lead and be brave:

Be open to collaborating with competition: San Francisco is a  small arts community, and because of that she always felt the need  to elevate others and the arts ecosystem as a whole. “I’m often talking to other gallerists about the business and about challenges that present themselves because we are all in this together. Yes, we are competing for the same clients, but at the end of the day, we are all one community trying to make our artists’ voices heard,” she says.

Have a personal advisory board: “I’m often consulting several people I trust about the many challenges I face. Having a personal advisory board has been very helpful to my process and to making the right decisions,” she says.

Be brave. Take a seat at the table, own your knowledge and expertise, and know that your words have power. During the early years of her career, she often found herself at the table with people who seemed to have more knowledge, more power and more years under their belts. “What I realized is that, no matter what, if you truly feel like you belong at that same table, others will see you in the same way that  you see yourself: brave, intelligent and knowledgeable. After all, if you act like you don’t belong, then you’re just holding yourself back,” says Altman-Siegel.