Jessica Porter

Jessica L. Porter’s career came full circle six years ago when she launched Porter Contemporary, a gallery dedicated to showcasing emerging and established artists from around the world whose work embodies both skill and risk taking. The mission of Porter Contemporary continues to be based on founder Jessica L. Porter's vision of opening contemporary art collecting to a broader audience.
Porter began her career with a dual degree in Art History and Foreign Languages (French and Japanese), quickly finding herself in the curatorial department of the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum. From there, Porter broadened her career by taking an opportunity to use her language background through sales and marketing in the art shipping industry. Porter’s interests only continued to broaden and soon became consumed with the research and investigation of issues surrounding stolen art, primarily during World War II. She then entered law school focusing on art law and intellectual property issues while founding the Entertainment Art and Sports Law organization at the University of Maryland School of Law. After obtaining her Juris Doctor, she moved to New York and began practicing law. During the years of practicing law, Porter realized that her passion still remained in the art industry and continued to be involved in the art market by working in galleries on weekends, assisting friends and colleagues purchase art and volunteering in museums. The seeds for opening an art gallery were soon planted and officially launched in 2006. Currently, in addition to running Porter Contemporary, she runs a consulting business utilizing her art and law background that focuses on assisting foreign galleries navigate the U.S. art market, she teaches courses on the basics of art collecting and is the founder of ArtToGift, an online affordable art venue.
Porter has a resounding commitment to being a leader and resource to other women and is the founder and president of Raandesk Women, a collaborative women’s networking group, a member of the Leadership Advisory Board for the Girls Scouts of Greater New York and is an active member and committee leader of ArtTable.