Kipton Cronkite
| Kipton Cronkite | |
|---|---|
| Born | James Kipton Cronkhite April 22, 1971 Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Occupation | Ex-banker, Tech Entrepreneur, Creative Director |
| Website | |
| http://www.kiptonart.com | |
Kipton Cronkite: Founder & Creative Director, KiptonART.
Oklahoma native Kipton Cronkite’s love of art started as a young age. Both of his grandmothers were oil painters and their passion for art greatly influenced young Kipton’s interest in the field. Some of his earliest memories involve visits to the Will Rogers Museum in Oklahoma where he admired the Indian art, sculpture, as well as black and white photography. Then at the age of 10, a trip to New York solidified his love of art and set him on a course for the future as one of the industry’s leading curators of emerging talent.
His journey however was met with roadblocks and diversions along the way. His parents encouraged him to pursue a career in finance leading him to take on several positions within Bank of America's Alternative Investment Advisors group including Head of Global Client Services and Director & Senior Vice President of Investor Relations. After 9/11, Cronkite decided life was too short not to follow his true passion. After taking time traveling to film festivals around the world, a friend who owned a gallery in Soho offered him a position. During his stint at Pop International Galleries, Cronkite coordinated art exhibitions and facilitated sales of works by artists like Andy Warhol and Keith Haring. In addition to providing his first real hands-on training in the art world, the role gave rise to the idea for KiptonART.
Surrounded by well-known artists, Cronkite recognized there was no vehicle to help emerging artists gain a foothold in the field. Seizing upon his spirit of entrepreneurship, he founded KiptonART in 2002, an organization dedicated to introducing and promoting emerging artists to collectors, curators and gallerists through an online site, events and other programs. “My aim is to cultivate and create opportunities for a new generation of artists who don’t have the same means for exposure,” notes Cronkite. “I want to give them the chance to earn a living selling art and strengthen their credibility with galleries and sophisticated collectors which will aid in their overall career.”
After the site launched in 2005, Cronkite made it a point to become involved in arts related organizations and charities to not only meet like-minded people, but to support living artists. He initially spread himself thin across terrific organizations such as the Apollo Circle at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Young Collectors of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Contemporaries Executive Committee at the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Young Fellows of the Frick Collection Steering Committee just to name a few.
In addition to his charity work, Cronkite finds time to promote the arts through other media. He hosted a show called “Art Scene with Kipton” on NYCTV, written articles for Fine Art Connoisseur Fine Art Connoisseur[1][2] on art investment and is often quoted as an industry expert in publications such as CNN[3], Vogue, Vanity Fair, New York Magazine, The Wall Street Journal,[4] Modern Painters (magazine), Artnet.[5] and Crain’s New York.
Kipton graduated from Oklahoma State University with a B.S. in Marketing while also studying International Business at Imperial College in London. Cronkite pursued his MBA at Oklahoma City University but did not graduate. Residing in New York City, Cronkite’s passion for all things art continues to grow by the day.
[edit] KiptonART
KiptonART is an organization dedicated to giving emerging artists a voice by providing them access to collectors, gallerists, curators, auction houses, interior designers and the general public. Created by New York art enthusiast Kipton Cronkite in 2002, KiptonART consists of a leading art e-commerce site, which features an online gallery, weekly curated private “flash” sales and an online magazine acting as the voice of emerging art trends in the U.S. Artwork on the site is quite accessible with pieces starting as low as $50 and ranging into the thousands for more established artists. At the heart of KiptonART is the e-commerce art site launched in 2005, which features an extensive inventory of artist works available for purchase as well as ability for interior designers to create a virtual client portfolio. Currently, the site lists over 1,900 registered artists with a gallery featuring over 10,000 pieces ranging from paintings and prints to sculpture, photography and mixed media. The total value of artwork on the site exceeds $40 million. Another unique aspect of the site is the art rental program. Customers looking to decorate their homes or offices can choose from the roster of pieces and rent for a minimum of a year with the option of rotating pieces of similar value once a year. Rental prices are based on the experience level and curatorial evaluation of the artist.
[edit] References
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- ^ "CNN.com - Art investing not all about profit - Jul 10, 2006". CNN. http://edition.cnn.com/2006/BUSINESS/07/10/btn.artcollection/index.html. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- ^ The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/video/the-next-generation-of-philanthropy/6022FE0D-4268-4D3E-A87F-62E6C732D037.html.
- ^ Collecting Video Art - artnet Magazine
[edit] External links
- Profile of Kipton Cronkite and others in Barron's "Next-Gen Givers," December 1, 2008
- Profile of Kipton Cronkite in Barron's SmartMoney, December 1, 2008
- July 9, 2010
- June 15, 2010
- June 14, 2010
- August 2, 2009
- http://www.blackbookmag.com/article/the-columnist-that-never-sleeps-the-week-in-review/3507
- Kipton Cronkite on FishBowlNYC
