Moretti Fine Art Ltd. announces an exciting new venture with Richard Knight, the respected art dealer and former co-Chairman of Old Master and 19th century Art at Christie's. Under the banner of 'Knight Moretti', Richard Knight will operate in close association with Moretti Fine Art Ltd., one of the world's foremost dealers in old master paintings, and together act as dealers and agents in European Art. Knight Moretti will be based at the Moretti Gallery at 2a - 4 Ryder Street in St. James's, London. Richard Knight Fine Art Ltd. will also act as an independent dealer.

Richard Knight: “I am very excited to be returning to the world of independent art dealing following eleven enjoyable years with Christie’s. Having spent the greater part of my working life as a dealer, I am delighted to be returning to a world I know so well. It is also particularly pleasing for me to be embarking on this new venture in association with Fabrizio Moretti, one of today’s most impressive old master dealers and a friend whom I have known and admired from the earliest days of his business. I see a bright future for my own new company and for the Knight Moretti partnership.”

Fabrizio Moretti: “I have known Richard all my working life. He has been a constant supporter whilst I have established, built and developed the business of Moretti Fine Art Ltd. With 45 years experience, many at the forefront of the old master market, both as a private dealer and as an auction house specialist and departmental director, Richard’s knowledge and experience of the business will be of great benefit to us and our clients."

Richard Knight is a renowned specialist and art dealer with 45 years experience in the trade. He began his career working as a picture cataloguer with Phillips Auctioneers in 1970. From 1973 until 1984 he worked as an independent art dealer also devoting much of his time to the study and practise of painting conservation, latterly from offices and a studio in New Bond Street, London W1. In 1984 he was appointed a director of P&D Colnaghi & Co. Ltd. and in 1986 was appointed Joint Managing Director with responsibility for the London, New York and Paris galleries. Over the next decade, Colnaghi mounted numerous scholarly exhibitions, participated in most of the significant international art fairs and built on the tradition of prestigious museum sales to include The National Gallery, London and The Frick Collection, New York.

In 1996 he joined forces with Nicholas Hall (President, Colnaghi USA) and they formed the art dealing business, Hall & Knight Ltd., operating in London and New York, which made major sales to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, The National Gallery of Art, Washington, and The National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, amongst many others. In 2004 Christie’s acquired their companies and appointed them to the Board as Joint International Directors in the Old Master Picture Department. Shortly thereafter, the Department sold through private treaty, the celebrated Madonna and Child by Duccio di Buoninsegna from the Stoclet collection to The Metropolitan Museum, New York, for a sum reported to be around $50 million. In January 2012, Richard Knight was appointed Co-Chairman of Old Masters and 19th Century Art. He left Christie’s in July 2015. Richard Knight has formerly served on the Executive Committee of the Society of London Art Dealers (two terms) and also served twice as Joint Chairman of the Executive Committee of the European Fine Art Foundation (TEFAF Maastricht).

Moretti Fine Art Ltd. is one of the world’s leading art dealerships for old master paintings. With galleries in London, Florence and New York, the company was established by Fabrizio Moretti when he was just 22 years old, shortly after he graduated in Humanities in the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy of the University of Florence. Moretti’s inaugural exhibition, 'From Bernardo Daddi to Giorgio Vasari', took place in Florence in 1999 and immediately distinguished the gallery as a specialist in Italian, and especially Tuscan, old masters. In January 2005, Moretti Fine Art Ltd opened a gallery on Ryder Street, St. James’s, London, followed by a third gallery in New York in 2007.

Fabrizio Moretti participates in the most prestigious and important fairs in Europe and the United States, including The European Fine Art Fair (Maastricht), Frieze Masters (London), London Art Week (London), Biennale des Antiquaires (Paris) and Biennale Internazionale dell’Antiquariato di Palazzo Corsini, (Florence). Fabrizio Moretti has overseen significant sales to museums including a panel representing the Madonna and Child by the Maestro del Bigallo to the Uffizi Gallery, Florence; two extremely important panels by Fra Angelico, to the Museo di San Marco, Florence; and A View of the Grand Canal by Canaletto to the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

Over the years, the gallery has embarked on a philanthropic programme which has included the financial support of scholarships at the Universities of Florence and Bologna and the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florence. Fabrizio Moretti has also donated works of art to the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Most recently, he has sponsored the cleaning of The Visitation by Pontormo belonging to the Church of San Michele in Carmignano near Prato.

Fabrizio Moretti is the youngest member of the Executive Committee of The European Fine Art Fair in Maastricht, Secretary General of the Biennale dell’Antiquariato di Palazzo Corsini in Florence, vice-president of the Associazione Antiquaria d’Italia, and a member of the exhibition committee for Frieze Masters in London. He is also a member of the Federazione Italiana Mercanti d'Arte, the Associazione Antiquari Fiorentini, the French Syndicat National des Antiquaires, the Confédération Internationale des Négociants en Oeuvres d'Art, the Society of London Art Dealers and the British Antiques Dealers Association. On 27 September 2004, the French Minister of Culture, Renaud Donnedieu Vabres, bestowed on Fabrizio Moretti the title of ‘Chevalier de l’Ordre des Art et des Lettres’.