User:Martinwillis

Martin WillisAuctioneer Appraiser - listed in Who's Who in American Art,  was born July 7th, 1956 in Boston, a descendant of Henry Willis & Sons, a British organ maker and a Civil War officer in Georgia. He began working in the antiques trade at a very young age. Taking over his father, Morgan Willis' auction Gallery in 1985 in Eliot, ME, there was a huge growth within a couple of years. In 1986 Martin held the Jack Sharkey Estate Auction, and 1989 he hit the Crème de la Crème, holding The Josiah Bartlett Homestead Auction, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4XqNGW0994 with the Smithsonian involved and attendees came from around the globe. In the late 1990s Martin was heavily involved the artist Walt Kuhn Estate in Cape Neddick, ME. In May of 2001, Martin handled the second to the last letter written by the great President Abraham Lincoln. This letter was written on his knee in the White House stairway and is noted in the series of Abraham Lincoln Letters. At this time Martin Willis resides on the West Coast working as an independent appraiser and was the exclusive appraiser for the Estate ofMerv Griffin, appraising his collections in all of his California properties. Appraiser for talk show host Tom Snyder as well. Martin started The Antique Auction Podcast http://www.antiqueauctionpodcast.com in 2009 and interviews key players in the antique, art & auction world. He writes articles for the San Francisco Chronicle Martin Willis has spent many years involved in charity work for dozens of non-profit organizations. Recently as auctioneer for Pixar Animation Studios Totoro Forest Project Benefit Auction. Stanford University SPILF Auction and many more.