Brent Fay Sikkema (August 13, 1948 – January 15, 2024) was an American art dealer and the co-founder of Sikkema Jenkins & Co., a Manhattan art gallery that represented artists including Kara Walker, Louis Fratino, Arturo Herrera, the estate of Tony Feher, Vik Muniz, and Jeffrey Gibson.
Early Life
Sikkema was born on August 13, 1948, in Morrison, Illinois, the younger of two children of Dwaine Louis Sikkema and Emily "Billie" (Howe) Sikkema. He attended the San Francisco Art Institute.
Career
Sikkema began working with art in 1971 as the director of exhibitions at the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, New York. He opened his first gallery in 1976 in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1991, he founded Wooster Gardens in New York City, which later became Sikkema Jenkins & Co., located in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan.
Death
On January 15, 2024, Sikkema was found dead at the age of 75 in his winter home in the Jardim Botânico district of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He had been stabbed 18 times, with most wounds to the face and chest. Approximately US$3,000 was stolen from his home.
Two days later, 30-year-old Alejandro Triana Prevez was arrested as a suspect. On February 9, 2024, Prevez told police that Daniel Sikkema, the victim's ex-husband, had promised him $200,000 to kill Brent. According to the investigation, Daniel's motivation stemmed from a dispute over millions of dollars from Brent's estate. Sikkema had changed his will in May 2022, removing Daniel as a beneficiary.
Legal Proceedings
On March 21, 2024, Daniel Sikkema was arrested for passport fraud in New York. The FBI joined the investigation on July 1, 2024. On February 11, 2025, U.S. authorities arrested and indicted Daniel Sikkema for the murder of Brent Sikkema. On May 22, 2026, a federal jury in the United States convicted Daniel Sikkema of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, finding that he planned and financed the killing. He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
