Michael Mendelsohn formed The Briddge Group to create specialized family philanthropic opportunities, to help fellow collectors become aware of their ability to keep collections intact, and become an advocate to collectors and their advisors to develop more tax efficient art distributions to heirs and art-related institutions. He is an art collector, philanthropist, lecturer and author on inheritance planning and preservation of assets.
Mr. Mendelsohn’s innovative inheritance planning strategies for art and antique assets have been featured in Trusts and Estates, Art of the Times, Art & Antiques, Fine Art & Antiques, and Wealth Management Business magazines. He has been quoted in articles in The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Business Week, The NY Post, Forbes and Worth.
He is a frequent continuing education presenter on lifetime and postmortem planning strategies, with a background in accounting, taxation and philanthropic studies.
As philanthropists, Mr. Mendelsohn and his wife, Gael, have gifted key pieces to the Museum of American Folk Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Milwaukee Museum, the Smithsonian Institution and the High Museum of Art. Their collection is chronicled in “The Intuitive Eye,” a book prepared in conjunction with the 2000 New York exhibition “Masterpieces from the Mendelsohn Collection." The successful application of Mr. Mendelsohn’s strategies to his own private collection is a key reason why Michael and Gael were recognized by Art & Antiques as one of America's Top 100 Collectors.
Additionally, Michael is the author of “Life is Short, Art is Long – Maximizing Estate Planning Strategies for Collectors of Art, Antiques and Collectibles,” which recently received the prestigious Axiom Business Book Award for personal finance. You can purchase a copy of his book here. PARTNER
Paul Klein
Paul Klein is a long-time art advocate and consultant. He served as the art consultant and curator for the recently completed expansion of McCormick Place, where he used solely Illinois artists and Illinois-specific works for the permanent installations. Mr. Klein previously owned and operated Klein Art Works, which helped develop the River North and River West areas of Chicago into diverse art hubs.
For the past 6 years, Klein has been writing and distributing ArtLetter, an online examination of art in Chicago. He previews exhibitions and encourages readers to broaden their horizons by embracing unexpected quality, new venues, dynamic artists and strong exhibitions.
Mr. Klein’s long-term contributions to the city of Chicago were acknowledged by the Chicago Society of Artists when he was selected as their “2006 Man of the Year.” EXPERT ASSOCIATES
Joseph Jacobs
Joseph Jacobs is an art historian and expert on the art market, having advised collectors and museums for more than 25 years. He was previously executive director of the Renee and Chaim Gross Foundation in New York, and a curator at The Newark Museum, the Oklahoma City Art Museum, and the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art.
His numerous publications include “Since the Harlem Renaissance: 50 Years of African-American Art,” “This Is Not a Photograph: 20 Years of Large-Scale Photography,” and “A World of Their Own: Twentieth-Century American Folk Art.” He authored Section Four: The Modern World, 1750-2005 for the 7th edition of H.W. Janson’s “History of Art” (2006), which is the most popular text book on art history.
He has written for a variety of art magazines, including Art in America, ARTnews, Art & Antiques, and has contributed numerous essays to major publications, including the award-winning Off Limits: Avant-Garde Art at Rutgers University, 1957-1963.
William Roth
William Roth has a BS from Emory University and a law degree from Stetson Law School. He and his wife, Norma Canelas Roth, are avid collectors of art in several significant areas, including contemporary, crafts, textiles, ethnographic, and Asian. They have been recognized as one of America’s The Top 100 Collectors by Art & Antiques magazine three times.
Mr. Roth has implemented The Briddge Group’s methods to organize and managed the philanthropic aspects of his massive collection. Bill and Norma have loaned works from their collections to more than 25 museums in the United States, including the Orlando Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum in New York, The Hirshhorn in Washington, and The Jewish Museum in New York. They have also utilized the collection to make gifts totaling several million dollars.
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Michael Mendelsohn formed The Briddge Group to create specialized family philanthropic opportunities, to help fellow collectors become aware of their ability to keep collections intact, and become an advocate to collectors and their advisors to develop more tax efficient art distributions to heirs and art-related institutions. He is an art collector, philanthropist, lecturer and author on inheritance planning and preservation of assets. 
Paul Klein is a long-time art advocate and consultant. He served as the art consultant and curator for the recently completed expansion of McCormick Place, where he used solely Illinois artists and Illinois-specific works for the permanent installations. Mr. Klein previously owned and operated Klein Art Works, which helped develop the River North and River West areas of Chicago into diverse art hubs.