WAQAS WAJAHAT is a collector with a longstanding history of advising and collaborating with artists and artists’ estates, including those of Milton Avery, Richard Pousette-Dart, David Smith, and William Turnbull. Educated at the University of Pennsylvania and the Barnes Foundation, he held curatorial positions at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Philadelphia Museum of Art before moving into the New York gallery world, where he further developed his expertise in postwar and contemporary art.

Over the years, he has initiated, organized, and supported numerous museum exhibitions, including major surveys and retrospectives devoted to Milton Avery, Herbert Ferber, Neil Jenney, Alexis Rockman, Richard Pousette-Dart, James Prosek, Sean Scully, Donald Sultan, and John Walker. Since 2002, he has played an active role in preserving and advancing Milton Avery’s artistic legacy, serving as a close advisor to the Milton Avery Trust and the Sally and Milton Avery Arts Foundation.

His commitment to cultural institutions is reflected in an extensive range of leadership roles in the United States and Europe. He is the founding Chair of the International Committee at Malta International Contemporary Art Space (MICAS) and a trustee of the Drawing Center and the Morris Museum. He maintains a longstanding association with the Norton Museum of Art and serves on advisory and collections committees at the Barnes Foundation, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

In the United Kingdom, his institutional affiliations include the Royal Academy of Arts’ Chair Circle and the Campaign Board of the Courtauld. He is a founding member of the National Portrait Gallery’s newly established Contemporary Council and a founding patron of the Goodwood Art Foundation.

Over the past decade, he has been devoted to building a significant personal collection of postwar and contemporary art, with particular emphasis on women artists. His collecting interests also extend to Indian Mughal painting and mid-century design, reflecting a broader engagement with artistic traditions, materials, and forms across cultures and periods.