MAGIS COLLECTION

Christopher Haqq 

Corporate leader, entrepreneur and collector

Co-founder Magis Collection

Christopher Haqq is the co-founder of Magis LLC. Christopher’s expertise in sales, marketing and lifelong entrepreneurial spirt have driven his personal and professional success. 

Christopher is a managing partner of one of the nation’s leading restoration firms. 

Christopher is a Minnesota native, University of Minnesota Alumni and a passionate Art Collector. Chris holds a prestigious board seat at the world-renowned Walker Art Center. Both his personal and corporate art collections focus on the medium of painting. Both collections began by acquiring important pictures from the 1950’s and 1960’s from the leading women of the Abstract Expressionist movement in New York.  The Collections interest in painting has expanded to include many contemporary artists and has been actively collecting paintings, drawings and prints. Outside of work, Christopher is family focused, he and his Wife Anastasia Viray are raising to two young daughters Ava and Vivienne. 

Michael Antonello

 Corporate leader, classical violinist and collector

Co-founder Magis LLC

Michael Antonello began his career as a professional violinist having attended the finest schools in the world, including The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and the Indiana University Music School. At age 30 Michael entered the business world with Northwestern Mutual Life

and had an eminently successful 27-year career as a national leader in the life insurance business. This not only financed the purchase of Stradivarius and Guarneri Del Gesu violins but also a major collection of American Impressionist Paintings. Michael continued to record the major violin repertoire and all of this body of work can be heard on YouTube or Michael’s musical website  https://michaelantonello.com

Michael and his wife Jean began collecting important American Impressionist Paintings at age 40 and in a 20-year span their collection included Sargent’s, Prendergast, Robinson, Tarbell, and many others representing the best of the best.  

Magis LLC the company, was formed eight years ago as a construction company specializing in exterior insurance restoration work. My business partner Chris was my oldest son's best friend and I have known him and his family since he was twelve years old. Chris became interested in art much as a result of our family friendship and his exposure to our collecting. 

Art of the post war period is uniquely American, like jazz and is full of the energy of New York City and an expanding American frontier. Collecting is the pursuit of beauty and surrounding yourself with it. It is an attempt to touch and reflect something of the divine. It is a very satisfying and interesting thing to do with one’s time and money.