About Maria

Maria Brito is an independent art advisor working with private collectors, families and institutions to build, shape and manage exceptional art collections.

A Harvard graduate originally from Venezuela and based in New York City for more than two decades, Maria combines rigorous analytical thinking with a strong curatorial eye, creativity and business acumen. That combination has shaped an advisory practice grounded in research, connoisseurship, market knowledge and commercial judgment, allowing her to approach both the art and the business of collecting with equal depth.

Since founding her advisory in 2009, Maria has guided clients through acquisitions and sales across the primary and secondary markets, from identifying important works and understanding value to negotiating purchases, navigating galleries and auctions, and making thoughtful decisions about what belongs in a collection over time.

Her approach is highly personal and entirely independent. Because she represents the collector rather than a gallery, dealer or auction house, Maria provides candid advice and advocates exclusively for her clients’ interests. She works closely with both new and experienced collectors, developing a deep understanding of their taste, ambitions and the collections they want to build.

Maria was selected by Complex Magazine as one of the 20 Power Players in the Art World, included by The Observer in its Art Power Index, and named by ARTnews as one of the visionaries who get to shape the art world. She has curated exhibitions across three continents.

Her bestselling book, How Creativity Rules the World, was published by HarperCollins Leadership in 2022 and received the Axiom Book Award and the International Book Award in the Business and Entrepreneurship category. It was also selected by the Next Big Idea Club as one of the best business and creativity books of the year.

Maria has written for publications including Forbes, Artnet, Cultured Magazine, Departures, Elle and the Huffington Post. Maria and her projects have been featured extensively in national and international publications including The New York Times, T: The New York Times Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, W Magazine, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, Time, New York Magazine, The Observer, The Economist, Interview, multiple international editions of Vogue, Departures, Forbes, Condé Nast Traveler and Architectural Digest, among many others.

Her TEDx Talk on art, creativity and technology was presented at The Ford Center at The University of Mississippi in 2022.