Art.com Hires Former Red Hat Chief Financial Officer.

Entertainment Editors

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK AREA, N.C.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Jan. 16, 2002

Veteran Financial Officer to Head New Financial Management Team

Art.com (www.art.com), the world's largest online consumer marketplace for prints, posters, photographs, and custom frames, announced today it has hired Manoj George, the Chief Financial Officer who strategically led the successful Red Hat (Nasdaq:RHAT) IPO in 1999.

Mr. George, who will serve as CFO and Executive VP for Art.com effective immediately, has extensive experience in venture capital and strategic funding activities. In addition to orchestrating Red Hat's IPO, he successfully managed the company's $300 million secondary offering.

"Art.com continues to experience spectacular growth and as the market improves we continue to explore all financial avenues, including acquisition offers and a potential IPO," said Joshua Chodniewicz, Art.com's CEO. "Moving forward, Manoj will be overseeing all financial responsibilities, as well as creating a streamlined financial model to manage our growth. He is an essential and significant addition to our already strong management team."

While at Red Hat, Mr. George implemented the company's global financial reporting system, establishing subsidiaries in Europe, Australia and Japan. In addition, company revenues increased from $2 million to more than $60 million, and grew from 25 employees in one location to more than 500 employees in 15 locations around the world. During his tenure at Red Hat, George managed the acquisition and integration of six technology companies - including the well-known acquisition of Silicon Valley Based Cygnus Solutions, which doubled Red Hat's size.

"Art.com is delivering on the promise of leveraging next-generation technology with sound financial management, and is well positioned for the future," said Manoj George. "At a time when most companies are retracting, Art.com is profitable and continues to experience record financial results quarter after quarter. This is one of the most exciting stories in the Research Triangle Park Area and I am very excited and looking forward to the challenges ahead."

"This is definitely one of the best hires I've seen in RTP in the last six months," said Les Bethune, Technology Partner in Ernst & Young's Raleigh, NC office. "Manoj's track record is impressive and his performance at Red Hat was nothing short of spectacular. Red Hat's IPO was one of the largest in North Carolina history due in large part to Mr. George's solid financial management skills and aggressive strategic acquisition activities."

About Art.com

Based in the Research Triangle Park Area, NC, Art.com is the world's premier online marketplace for prints, posters, photographs, and custom frames. With revenues increasing significantly each year for the past five years, the private company's future growth is being fueled by its own profits. Led by an aggressive executive team, Art.com is now ranked among the top 100 trafficked e-commerce sites in the world and is the leading online company in a growing $16 billion art and framing industry. The company began to operate profitably in August 2000 and acquired the Art.com name and assets from Getty Images in May 2001. For more information about Art.com, please call 919/831-0015.