Amy Cappellazzo jolted New York’s art world recently when she left her powerful position as chairwoman of Christie’s postwar and contemporary department to become a private art adviser, quickly brokering sales like Christie’s $82 million sale of a Rothko painting this spring.

艾米·卡佩拉佐(Amy Cappellazzo)前不久放弃了佳士得战后与当代艺术部主席这个位高权重的职位，成为一名私人艺术顾问，令纽约的艺术界大为震惊，很快，她便从中安排了若干交易，诸如今年春天佳士得以8200万美元成交的一幅罗斯科(Rothko)画作。

Tobias Meyer, the regal chief auctioneer of Sotheby’s auction house, also surprisingly stepped down from his podium less than two years ago to become an adviser.

托拜厄斯·迈耶(Tobias Meyer)曾是苏富比帝王般的头号拍卖师，不到两年前，他也是这样惊人地离开了拍卖台，当上了艺术顾问。

Guy Bennett, once a top Christie’s expert, now counsels the Qatar Museums and its chairwoman, Sheikha al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.

盖伊·班尼特(Guy Bennett)曾是佳士得的顶级专家，如今成了卡塔尔博物馆及其女馆长谢赫·阿尔·玛雅沙·本特·哈马德·本·哈利法·阿勒萨尼公主(Sheikha al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani)的顾问。

For decades, art advisers were a small club of professionals who personally helped build collections for clients, using their scholarship and connoisseurship. Their role was to consult and offer expertise, rarely to make deals. Bernard Berenson, the Harvard-trained art historian, was a famed counsel to the collector Isabella Stewart Gardner.

几十年来，艺术顾问都是由一小群专业人士把持，他们运用自己的学术和鉴赏能力，以个人身份帮助客户建立收藏。他们的角色是提供咨询和专业知识，很少决定交易。哈佛大学出身的艺术历史学家伯纳德·贝伦森(Bernard Berenson)就是一位著名艺术顾问，为收藏家伊莎贝拉·斯图尔特·加德纳(Isabella Stewart Gardner)服务。

“I’m not anxious to have you own braces of Rembrandts, like any vulgar millionaire,” he wrote to her in 1900.

“我建议你不要像那些粗俗的百万富翁，急于买下大堆伦勃朗(Rembrandts)的画作，”1900年，他在给她的信中写道。

But the rapidly changing art market — characterized by soaring prices, high fees and a host of wealthy new buyers from Wall Street and abroad — has prompted scores of new players to jump into the pool, from young art-world arrivistes to former auction-house executives with an abundance of expertise and connections. “It’s the Wild West,” said Abigail Asher, who has been an adviser for 25 years. “It’s like being in a gold rush mining town. We have been the miners for years and a lot of people are just showing up now.”

但是艺术市场在飞速变迁，其特点是价格不断攀升，服务费用高昂，有了一大群来自华尔街与海外的新买家。这推动着许多人加入到艺术顾问的行列，从年轻的艺术界新来者，到拥有丰富专业知识与资源的拍卖行前高管。“这就像当年狂野的西部，”担任顾问25年的阿比盖尔·阿舍(Abigail Asher)说。“就像是淘金潮中的小镇，我们都是多年的矿工，如今很多新人也来了。”

Many of these advisers are changing the profession — aggressively pursuing trophy art, wielding greater power in negotiations and in some cases acting more like fast-moving dealers than high-minded consultants. It is not yet clear what effect the latest gyrations of the financial markets will have on the art market, but in good times one big sale can reap millions of dollars for an adviser.

很多这样的新顾问正在改变着这个行当，他们激烈地追逐能显示身份地位的艺术品，在谈判中发挥更大的权力，有时候更像是快速行动的交易商，而不是心性高尚的顾问。金融市场最新的变化对于艺术市场的影响尚不分明，但在好的情况下，一名顾问可以在一场大型销售里赚到数百万美元。

Many veteran advisers view their new competition with concern. Some practitioners are too inexperienced to provide good counsel, they say, or use tactics that they warn threaten to sully the profession, like dealing on the side, or demanding broker’s fees from both their clients and the galleries that sell to them.

很多资深顾问都对这种新的竞争局面表现出了担忧。他们说，有些见习执业者太缺乏经验，无法给出好的建议；他们还告诫说，一些新来者甚至会采用有辱这一行业的策略，比如私下交易，或者从自己的客户和卖方画廊两方面同时收取费用。

“There is a new breed,” said Wendy Cromwell, former president of the Association of Professional Art Advisors, “an independent contractor — kind of like black ops, like a hired gun — who can get you what you need in a tough, changing environment.”

“这是新生代，”专业艺术顾问协会(Association of Professional Art Advisors)的前会长温迪·克伦威尔(Wendy Cromwell)说，“他们是一种独立承包人——有点像特工、像雇佣兵——他们可以在严酷、不断变化的环境里弄到你需要的东西。”

No organization tracks the number of art advisers, who do not need a license to operate. But in one small indication of the field’s growth, the Association of Professional Art Advisors has 140 members, a third of whom have joined in the last four years. And interviews with art-world professionals say that the numbers are swelling well beyond that.

没有什么组织能统计出艺术顾问的确切数量，这个行当也不需要营业执照。但是专业艺术顾问协会(Association of Professional Art Advisors)的140名成员之中，有1/3都是最近四年才加入进来的，这是这个行业不断膨胀的小小指标。艺术界专业人士在接受访谈时，也表示这个行业从业人数增加情况要比这个多得多。

“I get pitched things from ‘art advisers’ every week,” said James R. Hedges, a collector. “They are increasingly acting as private dealers, rather than true independent advisers.”

“我每个星期都会从‘艺术顾问’那里收到消息，”收藏家詹姆斯·R·海奇斯(James R. Hedges)说，“他们愈来愈像私人交易商，而不是真正的独立顾问。”

Even financial professionals have gotten into the act. Karen Boyer studied art history but had little professional art experience when she quit the hedge-fund business and has run an art advisory from her Manhattan apartment since 2010, with Wall Street collectors among her clients.

甚至金融专家也开始卷入这个行当。卡伦·波伊尔(Karen Boyer)学习过艺术史，在艺术领域没有什么专业的工作经验，但在2010年，她离开对冲基金行业，在自己位于曼哈顿的寓所开了一家艺术顾问行，她的客户中不乏来自华尔街的藏家们。

“My clients are very analytical and treat art like any other investment,” Ms. Boyer said.

“我的客户都非常善于分析，他们把艺术当做一项投资，”波伊尔说。

Some advisers are paid on retainer, or perhaps a rate of, say, $150 to $300 an hour — fees that do not rise or fall based on the price of the art they recommend.

有些顾问是按定额制收费，或者说，大约150美元到300美元一小时，费用不会按照所推荐的艺术品价格而升降。

But increasingly advisers work on commission, typically earning perhaps 5 percent to 10 percent of the purchase price — leading to big returns when prices soar into the tens of millions of dollars. Such sales are usually private, but according to court papers and state records, Ben Heller, an adviser to J. Ezra Merkin, a prominent Wall Street financier and collector who had invested with Bernard L. Madoff, earned $26.5 million in fees in 2009, on the sale of a $310 million art collection filled with Rothkos.

但是愈来愈多的顾问是按佣金制收费，一般是收取客户所购买的物品价格的5%到10%，如果物品价格攀升到千万美元，回报就相当可观。这样的交易通常是私下进行的，但是根据法律文书和州记录，本·赫勒(Ben Heller)曾给J·埃兹拉·梅尔金(J. Ezra Merkin)当顾问，梅尔金为华尔街著名金融家和收藏家，曾投资给伯纳德·L·麦道夫(Bernard L. Madoff)，2009年，他在价值3.1亿美元、涉及多幅罗斯科画作的交易中赚到2650万美元的费用。

That’s an exponential hike in pay for top auction-house specialists, who typically earn a base salary of $350,000 to $1 million, plus bonuses.

这样的收入对于顶级拍卖行专家来说是巨大的提升，他们的收入一般是底薪35万美元到100万美元外加奖金。

Cristin Tierney, a Chelsea dealer and art adviser who once worked at Christie’s, said that an adviser who sold a $10 million painting would likely clear a fee of $500,000. “And your overhead is very low,” she said. “At Christie’s, you are only getting a percentage of that $500,000.”

切尔西的交易商兼艺术顾问克里斯汀·蒂尔尼(Cristin Tierney)曾在佳士得工作，她说一个顾问卖出价值1000万美元的绘画作品，通常可以得到50万美元的费用。“而且你的管理费用开支非常低，”她说，“在佳士得，你只能得到那50万当中的一部分。”

Unsurprisingly, many new advisers are auction-house alumni, giving Sotheby’s and Christie’s reason to worry about the potential defection of top talent.

毫不令人惊讶的是，很多新顾问都是拍卖行出身，因此苏富比和佳士得有理由担心顶级人才的流失。

The demand for advisers has grown in part because newly rich collectors need help navigating an increasingly transactional, famously opaque art market.

对顾问的需求还在上升，部分原因是，在关系日益复杂、以不透明而著称的艺术市场之中，那些新富藏家迫切需要他人的指引。

And for these buyers, advisers — once considered largely messengers between collectors and sellers — are increasingly empowered at auctions, galleries and art fairs. “We’re seeing them become more the negotiator than they traditionally might have been,” said Lisa Dennison, the chairwoman of Sotheby’s North and South America.

顾问们曾经一度被视为收藏家和卖家之间的信使，但是由于这些新收藏家们，顾问在拍卖会上、画廊里和艺术展中愈来愈有实权。“和传统相比，他们更像交易者了，我们目睹了这个过程，” 苏富比南北美洲部主席丽莎·丹尼森(Lisa Dennison)说。

The best are wooed with elegant dinners, early notice of forthcoming offerings and private showings. “Ten years ago we didn’t watch them closely but now we are courting the most important ones assiduously,” said Victoria Siddall, the director of the Frieze art fairs in New York and London.

顾问中的精英可以得到豪华晚宴的款待，作品上市前会得到提前通知，可以参加专门举行的私下展览。“十年前，我们不大理会他们，但现在要孜孜不倦地讨好他们当中最重要的人了，”纽约与伦敦弗里兹(Frieze)艺术展主席维多利亚·西德尔(Victoria Siddall)说。

Many dealers and gallerists are also acting as advisers, violating a principle of the advisers association, which holds that its members should not own sizable amounts of art for sale. The rule is intended to avoid the suggestion that advisers are pushing clients to invest in the same artists, thus raising the value of their own collections, or profiting by selling collectors art they own. Ms. Cappellazzo, who is not a member of the association, says that one can both own and advise. Her company with the experienced art adviser Allan Schwartzman — Art Agency, Partners — provides multiple services, including the opportunity to invest alongside them in their art fund.

很多交易商和画廊老板也同时充当顾问，这违反了顾问协会的原则，即成员不得拥有大批量供出售的艺术品。这条规则是为了避免顾问推动客户在相同的艺术家身上投资，以此抬高顾问本人藏品的价格；或者把自己拥有的艺术品卖给收藏家，以此牟利。卡佩拉佐并不是该协会的成员，她说一个人可以既是老板，又当顾问。她的公司“艺术中介，合作伙伴”(Art Agency, Partners)是与资深艺术顾问艾伦·施瓦兹曼(Allan Schwartzman)合开的，提供多种服务，包括与他们共同投资他们的艺术基金。

“I don’t think you can eliminate conflicts in the art world,” Ms. Cappellazzo said. “All you can do is be transparent.”

“我觉得艺术界的冲突没法根除，”卡佩拉佐说。“你只能做到透明。”

Some new advisers say that complaints about the expanded ranks seem born of jealousy, or fear of competition, and that it is unfair to suggest they play fast and loose with the rules.

有些新顾问说，关于这个行业的膨胀，抱怨往往来自嫉妒者，或者担心竞争的人；说他们增长太快，破坏游戏规则，这是不公平的。

“I see more and more compliance, more disclosure,” said Stephane C. Connery, who left Sotheby’s in 2012 to become an adviser and dealer. “For people coming out of the auction houses, there is a degree of professional rigor in the training.”

“我看到愈来愈多的遵守规则，愈来愈多的开诚布公，”斯蒂芬妮·C·康纳利(Stephane C. Connery)说，2012年，她离开苏富比，当上了顾问与交易商。“那些拍卖行出身的人都受过训练，具有相当程度的职业严谨性。”

Because the pace of buying has accelerated, high-powered advisers or dealers like Sandy Heller and Jeffrey Deitch can push their collectors to the front of the line by using their connections with other collectors, dealers and auction houses. “Very sophisticated advisers will find you a Johns, they will find you a Twombly,” said Donald B. Marron, a financier and collector, referring to the artists Jasper Johns and Cy Twombly. “They’re very quickly turning into dealers.”

因为购买的步伐在加快，像桑迪·赫勒(Sandy Heller)和杰弗里·戴奇(Jeffrey Deitch)这样位高权重的顾问或交易商可以靠着手中与其他收藏家、交易商和拍卖商的资源，把自己的收藏家推向购买前沿。“非常老练的顾问可以帮你找到约翰斯和托姆布雷，”金融家及收藏家唐纳德·B·马龙(Donald B. Marron)说，他指的是艺术家贾思帕·约翰斯(Jasper Johns)和赛伊·托姆布雷(Cy Twombly)。“他们可以很快就变成交易商。”

Some longtime art advisers also said they had learned from the new breed, like how to stage better public exhibitions of their collectors’ works.

有些资深艺术顾问也说，他们从新生代顾问身上学到了东西，比如怎样为自己所服务的藏家推出更好的藏品公共展。

But Ms. Asher said that some newer advisers do not understand all the basics of the profession — like the need to have a collector as a client.

但是阿舍女士说，有些新晋艺术顾问根本不理解这个职业的基础——比如，手头要拥有藏家客户。

She was recently approached, she said, by a new adviser who was interested in a $10 million painting in a collection she represented. Negotiations quickly broke off, though, when it became apparent that the new adviser never had a buyer and simply wanted to try to lock up the work.

她说，最近有一个新晋顾问和她接触，对她推出的展览中一幅价值1000万美元的画作很有兴趣。但是谈判很快就破裂了，因为那个新顾问手上显然根本没有买家，他只想锁定这幅作品的交易。

“There are hundreds of people who now call themselves art advisers,” she said, “but walking someone around an art fair does not make you an adviser.”

“现在有好几百号人都说自己是艺术顾问，”她说，“但是带着别人在艺术展上转悠算不上什么顾问。”

Among the most questionable developments, according to the advisers association, is that some insist on collecting two fees when they help arrange a sale — one from their client and another from the gallery selling the work.

据该顾问协会表示，新顾问中最有问题的趋势就是：有些人在安排交易时，会坚持从客户与出售作品的画廊两方面收取费用。

Some galleries think they must accept the practice to curry favor for the future. But a collector can never be sure whether the work is being recommended on its merits, or because of the gallery bonus. And if advisers with a conflict of interest don’t disclose it to their clients, they can be legally liable for breaching their fiduciary duty.

有些画廊觉得他们必须得接受这种行为，以便在将来得到好处。但是这样一来，收藏家就无法确定，眼前的作品究竟是因为它的真实价值而得到推荐，抑或是因为画廊给了顾问好处。如果顾问因为有利益上的冲突，不把某件作品呈现给客户，他们在法律上就违背了自己的受信义务(fiduciary duty)。

Elizabeth Szancer, a longtime art adviser and curator who works with the collector Ronald S. Lauder, said that such lapses dilute the meaning of the term art adviser and that the trade should stay true to its principles.

资深艺术顾问、策展人伊丽莎白·赛瑟(Elizabeth Szancer)曾与收藏家罗纳德·S·劳德(Ronald S. Lauder)合作，她说，这样的不检点行为损害了“艺术顾问”这个字眼的意义，这个行业还是应当忠于原则。

“We really have to hold our ground,” she said.

“我们应当坚持立场，”她说。