Specialist Personnel

After completing his Bachelor of Arts at the University of Hobart, Guy joined Leonard Joel as an assistant manager in 2003 and was promoted to the position of Head of Decorative Arts in 2007. Over the past 7 years, Guy has had the opportunity to experience all facets of the company, from single-owner collections, such as the Marvin Hurnall Australiana Collection and The Grace Antique Galleries Collection, to individual items of international importance. Guy now oversees two major Decorative Art and Furniture auctions annually and is regularly engaged to manage the dispersal of significant house contents auctions and single-owner sales.

Originally from New Zealand, Briar graduated from the University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Arts in Art History in 2000. She then undertook a post graduate diploma at Sotheby’s institute in London studying Fine and Decorative Arts. Upon returning to New Zealand, she worked in a leading commercial gallery in Auckland and managed an art services business. After moving to Australia in 2006, Briar joined a well established commercial gallery in Melbourne as gallery manager but her desire to pursue a career in the fine art auction industry led her to Leonard Joel in 2007 where she joined the Leonard Joel art department. Briar’s flair for curating high quality art auctions led to her rapid appointment as Senior Specialist and in 2010 she accepted the position of Head of Art. The Leonard Joel art department has now become synonymous with excellent research and valuing skills and the presentation of some of the most eclectic art auctions in the country.

Giles brings profound international expertise to the Leonard Joel business. His first 9 years were at Christie’s South Kensington, the first two of which were spent in the book department. The remaining 7 years at Christie’s were spent in their popular entertainment department that dealt in all manner of Rock & Roll memorabilia. With a clear passion for collectables, Giles rose to the position of associate director of Rock & Roll with Sotheby’s London, culminating in his appointment to Sotheby’s New York’s Collectables department as Assistant Vice President.
Giles is the most experienced collectables specialist in the country and brings to Leonard Joel a unique stand-alone department, specifically tailored for single-owner collections, with particular expertise in Antique Toys, Rock & Roll memorabilia, militaria including medals, sporting memorabilia, film and advertising posters and post-second world war utilitarian objects and ephemera.

After 10 years with the famous Melbourne jewellers Kozminsky, as Executive Manager of both their jewellery and art departments, John now runs the largest specialist jewellery auction department in Australia. As Head of Jewellery at Leonard Joel, John manages and oversees the identification, valuing and dispersal of more than 10,000 jewellery items annually and is uniquely placed to manage both significant jewellery collections and single items. No new comer to the Auction industry, in 1990 John was one of the first to set up and run his own auction of original movie posters and memorabilia, a passion for which he still maintains to this day.

Thirteen years after Jon's departure from Leonard Joel to Christie's Australia, where he headed up the Australian and International paintings department, and five years after Christie's closure, the third generation Australian art expert is returning to Leonard Joel to assist it with it's gradual but deliberate return to the sale of more valuable Australian art, collections and related categories.

Between the 1960s and 1990s Paul Dwyer (Jon's father) and then Jon Dwyer directed the Leonard Joel art department that dominated the Australian art auction landscape. As early as the 1960s, Jon's father Paul was laying the foundations of the modern Australian art market with the dispersal of historic art collections such as George Page Cooper, Sir Hans Heysen, and Charles Ruwolt.

Jon Dwyer's affinity with Leonard Joel and its clients spans decades and will provide the firm with enhanced expertise and client contacts.