Erin Olm-Shipman
Collection Manager
The Collectors Fund
4550 Main Street, Suite 227
Kansas City, MO 64111
(816) 268-2502
erin@thecollectorsfund.com
The Kansas City Collection is managed and coordinated by The Collectors Fund (TCF). TCF was founded by Alexander "Sandy" Kemper and Will Conner in 2006. In addition to creating and managing The Kansas City Collection program, TCF is the management company for the American Masters Collection I and Twentieth Century Masters Collection, two art ownership and investment funds for over 100 member families and businesses across the United States. The collections comprise works by many of the most recognized American artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Their distinguished features include the art rotation program that allows members to enjoy museum-quality art in their homes, and unique educational events around the country.
Alexander “Sandy” Kemper – Co-founder and Chairman
Prior to founding The Collectors Fund, Mr. Kemper founded Perfect Commerce (f/k/a eScout.com) and served as the company's Chairman and CEO from 2000-2006. Mr. Kemper is also Chairman of the Board and Founder of Pollenware, a pioneer in collaborative auction theory and structure. During the 1990's, he served as Chairman and CEO of UMB Bank and CEO of UMB Financial, a $10 billion financial services company.
Mr. Kemper and his family have been life-long collectors of fine art with a particular focus on American masters of the twentieth century. He has curated and managed a number of multi-million dollar art shows and sales and enjoys strong relationships with numerous artists, private dealers and public museum leaders. He is a trustee of the Enid and Crosby Kemper Charitable Trust and as such is involved in the support and operation of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Missouri. Mr. Kemper currently serves on a number of corporate boards including: UMB Financial (NASDAQ: UMBF), UMB Bank, National Information Consortium (NASDAQ: EGOV), BATS Exchange, and AXA Art Insurance (NYSE: AXA).
Will Conner – Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Conner manages the company's finances, operations and information systems, and supervises its collection management and art sharing functions. Since 2002, he has been a financial and development consultant for the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities in Washington, D.C., and has been a consultant for other arts organizations across the country on financial management, fund development, and data collection and analysis. He was Chief Operating Officer of Mid-America Arts Alliance for the last 13 years of a 29-year career there, during which the organization operated ExhibitsUSA, the largest and most diverse travelling fine arts and humanities exhibition service in the country. Mr. Conner earned an MBA from the University of Kansas in 1990.
Erin Olm-Shipman – Collection Manager and Member Relations
Ms. Olm-Shipman manages all logistics related to the acquisition, cataloguing, packing, transport, storage, insurance, appraisals, installation, and sale of the Fund's collections; and helps develop and coordinate educational and social programs for Fund members. Most recently, she was a project assistant in the American art department of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. While earning an MA in art history from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, she contributed curatorial research to a number of exhibitions, including several at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. Previously, she worked with the programs and education department at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, helped develop the educational and community outreach program for the Mount Holyoke College art museum, and contributed to outreach programs at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.