It is with great sadness that we at Burden and Izett announce the passing of our partner, friend and colleague Ben Izett, born December 2, 1960. Ben was dearly beloved by his friends and never easily forgotten by all those who met him over his eventful and all too short life.

From his early days in Wiltshire, England, Ben was a conqueror of adversity with a successful battle against Hodgkin’s disease. His passion for the fine and decorative arts was apparent early in his life.

He graduated with honors from the Gloustershire College of Art and Design with a bachelor of fine arts in painting in 1982. He attended the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture from 1984 to 1986, where he received the Ford Foundation Grant, The Milton Avery Scholarship and the Richard Seyffert Memorial Award.

It was through the art world that he migrated into art and antiques dealing. He first opened Portobello Antiques in Manhattan, moving the store a few years later to Hudson, N.Y., and finally coming back to Manhattan to open Burden and Izett Antiques and Works of Art in Tribeca with Jonathan Burden in 1999.

Ben was always willing to take chances and was never reticent with an opinion or a bid and usually proved himself to be completely on target. It is, however, his generosity of both spirit and things material for which he will be most sorely missed.

Ultimately, it was the aggressive treatment for Hodgkin’s that he suffered from when he was a teenager that weakened his heart to such an extent that he was unable to survive badly needed heart surgery.

Ben died on January 31, 2007, and is survived by his wife Susan, his children Benjamin and Naomi, mother Jane, brothers John and David, sister Alison, and many friends.

Private memorial services have been held; contributions to any heart-centered research may be made in Ben’s name.