Swann Galleries Reviews

The culture at Swann is an ongoing issue that the company is aware of yet makes little to no effort to improve. The highest level of management lacks basic leadership skills and regularly exhibits unprofessional behavior in the form of inappropriate comments and jokes. One member of the executive team has a longstanding reputation for extreme arrogance and condescension that is directed to staff and clients alike, yet the behavior continues to go unchecked. This unprofessional atmosphere set in place by senior management sets the tone company-wide and trickles down into interactions between other lower and mid-level employees. The performance review process is arbitrary, as it is disconnected from raises, promotions, and bonuses. Decisions regarding employee growth and salary are made at the sole discretion of the President, who is resistant to promoting talented employees for fear that they will leverage a new title into a role at a competing company. Department directors and managers are put in a frustrating position, as they seem to have no voice in, let alone control over, the professional development of their valued staff members. They invest their time and energy into nurturing talented employees, only to see them leave after two years due to poor pay, absence of growth potential, and lack of respect by executive leadership who seem to view junior staff as expendable. The executive team must invest in talent and support internal growth or otherwise should expect to continue to have the same problems with staff retention. These are not new problems and have been well-documented in previous Glassdoor reviews. The physical state of the gallery is in a constant state of upheaval and there is a severe lack of storage for artwork. The general clutter and haphazard storage of consignments (paintings stacked against walls in high-traffic hallways, piled in fire exits, etc.) is not only unsightly, but creates a hazardous and stressful work environment. The gallery has outgrown its space to the point where the company is unable to provide adequate workspaces for employees and areas for client appointments. As a Cataloguer, I spent much of my time hunting for areas in which to perform the day-to-day duties of my job, especially open surfaces large enough to accommodate the artwork that I regularly handled. I was not given the resources to do my job efficiently and effectively, despite nearly constant entreaties.

First and foremost, the casual environment has spiraled into laziness and complacency. The executive branch of the company is often callous and crude. Many of the long-term employees who have been grandfathered into the company are resistant to change and are shockingly inept when it comes to technology and efficiency. There is a massive lack of leadership -- this is a fact bemoaned by staff at all levels. The highest level of management appears to have little to no desire in attracting, supporting, and maintaining young, qualified employees who often hold higher educational degrees than himself. For the President, the company is his personal playground where the bottom line is his one and only concern. For everyone else, it is a crushingly demanding job with little to no reward. It is not uncommon for junior staff to spend their lunch breaks on job interviews or browsing job listings. Wages and annual bonuses are entirely arbitrary and well below industry standards by an average of 15-20%. They do not invest in talent. The day to day responsibilities and tasks expected of junior staff is pretty much identical to their directors. However, directors come and go as they please—sometimes with no regard to appointments the made with clients. Zero communication skills. Meanwhile, there has been a noticeable pattern of quickly promoting unqualified young white employees to positions which they usually abandoned shortly thereafter. Management frequently make false promises to loyal employees and favoritism is rampant. As long as you’re chummy with the higher ups, you can make as many egregious mistakes as you want and never truly be held accountable. Sexual harassment is an issue I hope the new HR person will try to address. Many of the women dread post-sale dinners due to his highly inappropriate and predatory behavior. Among the executive staff, one is so verbally abusive, tyrannical, and dismissive that the entire mood of the office shifts the moment he walks off the elevator. He is extremely unprofessional in his dealings with colleagues and clients alike. Through his actions and words, the President of the company has made it clear that he believes all junior staff are replaceable. Overall, it is a discouraging place to invest your time and energy into.