Helen Culver Smith

Helen Culver Smith oversees Decorative Arts at Sotheby’s internationally, with a particular specialization in Fabergé and Imperial Russian Art. With 19 years in the industry, she joined Sotheby’s in 2018 as Head of Department following on from a decade heading Russian Works of Art at another major auction house. She was appointed Head of the Decorative Arts in 2022 and took on global responsibility for the Decorative Arts team at Sotheby’s in 2023.

Under Helen’s leadership, Sotheby’s has dominated the market for Fabergé and Russian works of Art. She is an innovator in the field, establishing new markets, landmark sales and world auction records for Fabergé and decorative works of art. Helen works closely with private collectors internationally and has brought a number of important collections to the market, including the sale of Fabergé from Castle Howard (2025) and from the Brooklyn Museum of Art (2020), both of which were 100% sold and made $5 million over their low estimates. She also oversaw the sale of a private group of Fabergé, highlighted by exceptional and rare sedan chairs and an automated rhinoceros, which established a world record for the category.

Helen’s focus on driving the market for quality has led to several record prices, including a world auction record for a Fabergé icon, a record for an Imperial Presentation snuff-box by Fabergé and a world auction record for a piece of Soviet Porcelain. Having started her career working with gold boxes and vertu, portrait miniatures and silver, she comes with a diversity of experience bringing access and knowledge of the market to the field.

Helen has a Master’s degree with distinction from the Courtauld (2006) and a Bachelor’s degree in Art History from Princeton University (2003). She holds professional qualifications from Oxford, The London School of Economics and Gem-A.