Prominent New York Art Dealer Brent Sikkema Allegedly Stabbed to Death

Brent Sikkema, the founder and a co-owner of respected New York contemporary art gallery Sikkema Jenkins & Co., was found dead in a Rio de Janeiro apartment on January 15. He was seventy-five. According to multiple outlets, he had been stabbed; the Daily Mail reports that his death is being investigated as a homicide in connection with a robbery. 

Sikkema’s lawyer, Simone Nunes, told Brazilian newspaper O Globo, per The Post, that she was unable to reach Sikkema over the weekend and decided to go to his apartment to check on him. When she entered, using a key she previously had from house-sitting his apartment, she found him dead. The incident happened on Monday, according to the AP.

Firefighters removed Sikkema’s body from the apartment and it was transported to the Legal Medical Institute in Rio for examination, according to The Post. Police in Brazil told the AP in a statement that they completed forensics work where Sikkema’s body was found and will be continuing their investigation into the incident.

“Officers will listen to witnesses, are looking for more information and are carrying out other inquiries to shed light on the case,” local police said, per the AP.A state department spokesman confirmed “the death of a U.S. citizen in Rio de Janeiro,” to The Post. “We offer our sincerest condolences to the family. We are providing all appropriate assistance to the family. Due to privacy considerations, we have no further comment,” they added.Sikkema was born in 1948 and raised in Morrison, Illinois, before beginning his gallery work in 1971 as Director of Exhibitions at the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, New York, according to a biography on Sikkema Jenkins & Co.