WILLIAM LAWRIE
William Lawrie joined Christie's Islamic Art Department in London in 2004. Since then he has been investigating the option of including Contemporary Arab and Iranian Art in Christie's auction calendar, and was instrumental in organizing the exhibition marking the opening of the Christie's office in Dubai in April 2005. From September 2005 until early 2006, William spent the majority of his time travelling in the region to prepare for the inaugural sale of Christie's Dubai at the Emirates Towers in May 2006. Based on the success of this sale and the unprecedented enthusiasm from collectors old and new, the category of Contemporary Arab and Iranian art has now become a permanent feature on Christie's auction calendar. William relocated to Dubai in December 2006 as Christie's first specialist resident in the Middle East.
William studied History of Art at Edinburgh University, specializing in Islamic Art, and graduated with First Class Honours. A long-time interest in the Middle East had him spend summers in Cairo, where he has also lived for a while to study Arabic and the Islamic Architecture of the old city. He then worked for a prominent dealer before joining Christie's.