AnalysisSotheby's
Sotheby’s at the crossroads: new owner, new chief executive, new era
Will new management be able to grow the newly privatised auction house on a tight budget?
NewsArt market
Lifting the lid on auction house salaries: how long would it take an intern to earn Tad Smith's $28.2m Sotheby's payout?
Executive salaries rises, while junior staff struggle to move up the ladder
NewsArt market
Marina Abramovic’s The Life to become first mixed reality work ever auctioned
Christie’s will sell the piece with a £600,000 price tag next October to coincide with artist’s Royal Academy retrospective
InterviewArt market
In person | Cheyenne Westphal on swapping the drama of Sotheby’s for the challenge of growing Phillips
The chairman of Phillips explains what it takes to succeed in the auction business
NewsAuction houses
Sotheby's ceases publicly trading on the New York Stock Exchange as its $3.7bn sale to Patrick Drahi closes
Chief financial officer Michael Goss is replaced by Jean-Luc Berrebi per the terms of the merger, which sees shareholders compensated $57 per share
NewsAuction houses
Sotheby’s shareholders approve $3.7bn sale to telecoms tycoon Patrick Drahi
With an overwhelming 91% of shareholders in favour, the publicly traded auction house will go private after three decades on the New York Stock Exchange
NewsArt market
Two shareholders seek to block Sotheby’s purchase by BidFair
Lawsuits argue that information filed to the SEC is inadequate
NewsAuction houses
Phillips names Olivia Thornton head of 20th-century and contemporary art in Europe
The appointment comes after a handful of new hires across the auction house’s offices
BlogDiary of an art historian
Our 17th-century female artists faced a double injustice
New exhibition on Joan Carlile, Mary Beale and Anne Killigrew opens in London this week
NewsArt market
Mini Impressionist and Modern sale at Sotheby's makes £99m thanks to auction debutantes
Monet's waterlilies and Modigliani's portrait of an unknown boy lead the 25-lot sale, and new record made for Austrian artist Alfred Kubin's haunting drawing
NewsArt market
Tough going for Christie's skinny £36.4m Impressionist and Modern art sale
Early Schiele drawing is the low-key star of an unremarkable sale, topped by a flashy Picasso
NewsSotheby's
Sotheby's goes private as it is sold for $3.7bn
French-Israeli media billionaire Patrick Drahi's company BidFair USA buys firm from shareholders
NewsPride
Swann Auction Galleries joins in Stonewall celebrations with its first Pride sale
Salesroom hopes that capitalising on the trend for curated auctions will help to generate a renaissance in an underserved market
NewsArt market
More grief for Aristophil investors as French government seizes hundreds of documents
Around 18,000 people invested in the now bankrupted company's manuscripts collection, but state says many items of historical importance should never have been sold
NewsAboriginal art
Sotheby’s to hold the first major Aboriginal art sale in the US in November
The auction house cites increasing interest in Aboriginal art among US collectors and institutions
FeatureLost art
Lost art: the great Caravaggio whodunnit
Ahead of the painting's sale, the art historian Noah Charney asks whether the pricey work is a true lost treasure or one of scores made by Caravaggisti
NewsArt market
Sotheby’s reports loss of $7.1m in first quarter of 2019
Lack of supply dogs London and Hong Kong and guarantees are down over 50% as former chief operating officer Adam Chinn apparently joins the Mugrabi dealing family
NewsFrieze New York 2019
VR market realities tested at Frieze New York
This edition of the fair has a special section of virtual reality and augmented reality works
FeatureAuctions
Going, going, gone online: Europe's auction houses go digital
Online-only auctions may tend to focus on the lower end of the market, but they are key to expanding clientele. We survey ten auction houses to find out their strategy
NewsArt market
Gerhard Richter’s jet fighter painting finally takes off at Phillips after bumpy legal battle
After previous buyer defaulted on paying for the work in 2016, painting sold in London for £15.5m in a significantly smaller auction compared with 2018
NewsArt market
Sotheby's puts female artists first in contemporary sale, but men still end up on top
Jenny Saville's Juncture sells for £5.4m and records set for Rebecca Warren and Nigerian artist Toyin Ojih Odutola, but Jean-Michel Basquiat still leads prices
NewsArt market
Sotheby's sales up 16% in 2018 thanks to $1bn private sales boost
Auction house reports $6.4bn in total sales last year, while finance chief Mike Goss says guarantees will not be used "at a particularly high level" in future
NewsArt market
The good, the pricey and the Surreal: Monet flops while Signac glows at Christie's sale
Impressionist, Modern and Surrealist art auction makes second highest total for Christie's London at £165.4m, but much of overpriced collection goes unsold
NewsAdolf Hitler
Faking Hitler: the story behind a sinister market
Despite the failure of five of the dictator-to-be’s watercolours to sell at auction last month, a market for his works—both real and forged—remains
NewsArt market
Shifts among the major auction houses could spell serious change
Loic Gouzer to leave Christie’s as the auction house restructures in wake of Francis Outred's departure, while Phillips upgrades its New York headquarters
Commentartificial intelligence
We must not let the art market hoodwink us in the AI debate
The AI work that was sold at Christie's is profound in its conservatism, but others reflect how the technology can impact on art in fascinating ways
CommentArt market
Why the Christie's and Sotheby's duopoly is impregnable
The auction houses sell more than 80% of works priced over $1m at auction—can an underdog ever wrestle market share away from them?
NewsAppointments & departures
Sotheby’s Germany chief Philipp von Württemberg resigns
Heinrich von Spreti will serve as interim managing director until a replacement is found
NewsAuctions
Phillips and Bonhams see strong sales on smaller lots
The auction houses' bottom lines suffered from unsold lots in their contemporary sales, continuing a trend of top-lot discernment during New York’s fall sales
NewsArt market
Hockney sets new auction record for a living artist, but were strings pulled behind the no-reserve sale?
The Yorkshireman's 1970s Californian scene, Portrait of an Artist, sold on the nose at $80m at Christie's in New York last night
CommentArt market
Common mistakes of rookie auction guarantors
Guarantees can be lucrative, but in the face of savvy competition, novices can get burnt when backing works as a third-party
NewsArt market
Ambitious estimates hamper Christie's $279.2m Impressionist and Modern art sale as Van Gogh goes unsold but Monet is on the money
New York auction topped by Monet's Le bassin aux nymphaés, sold to an Asian buyer at $31.8m
NewsAuction record
Holy grail of folk ceramics made by 19th-century snake handler breaks auction record
The “snake jug” shattered the previous record for Anna Pottery, a niche favourite of Americana collectors
NewsArt market
Villa Grisebach to sell founder’s collection to raise funds for new Museum of Exile
Two-day auction will include works by Picasso, Matisse, Egon Schiele, collected by Bernd Schultz over six decades
NewsArt market
Christie's to offer major works from the Klapper collection that could fetch more than $50m
The 20-lot sale spans the auction house's New York and London locations and includes works ranging from Old Master paintings to a Monet
NewsArt market
Eric Albada Jelgersma's Old Master collection estimated to make over £26m at Christie's
Pair of portraits by Frans Hals expected to lead two-day sale of collection of Dutch entrepreneur, who was advised by the dealer Robert Noortman
NewsArt market
Stolen painting shown on BBC Antiques Roadshow in 1988 now held in limbo at Christie’s
Auction house sold the painting by Emma Sandys for £62,500 earlier this year, but now 19th century work is caught up in a legal battle
NewsArt market
Abraaj Group liquidators to sell 200 works from art collection at Bonhams
Middle Eastern and South Asian works owned by embattled Dubai-based private equity firm carry much lower estimates than prices paid a decade ago
CommentArt market
The all-powerful market is sounding the death knell for connoisseurship
Today, art history is increasingly being written by dealers and auctioneers to suit their own purpose
NewsArt market
Plucky Brits: Banksy self-destructs and Jenny Saville makes £9.5m record for a living female artist
Just when we thought Frieze week was all over, twists and turns provide high drama at Sotheby’s contemporary evening sale on Friday night
NewsArt market
British artists dominate Christie's patchy £71.1m sale, as over-priced Koons and Richter fail to sell
Francis Bacon's lighter depiction of George Dyer leads auction at £17.5m, with strong prices for Hurvin Anderson, Bridget Riley and Albert Oehlen
NewsFrieze London 2018
Frieze London fights gender gap—but how many female artists are at the fair?
Fair focuses on women but market still favours men
NewsArt market
Auction transfer season: Cécile Verdier of Sotheby's replaces Christie's France president, François de Ricqlès
Move follows a record-breaking breaking year for Paris auctions in 2017
NewsArt market
Young pop-up The Auction Collective claims bidding on art is as easy as buying a book on Amazon
No buyer's premium and bidding paddles on your phone, but founder still believes holding physical auctions is key
NewsArt market
Red tape is stifling German auctions
Stringent cultural heritage laws and bureaucracy are making consignments much harder to find
NewsArt market
Sotheby’s earnings take a hit as demanding consignors and guarantors squeeze its commission margin
Just two paintings significantly damaged the auction house's bottom line in the second quarter
ReviewBooks
Very much an acquired taste: how did so many Italian baroque paintings end up in US museums?
Book provides a sampling of personalities, acquisition strategies and collections that many Europeans may not know
NewsArt market
Christie’s reports record half year sales of £2.97bn
Rockefeller auction plus leap in private and online sales drive 26% increase
NewsClaude Monet
Monet’s lost cat returns home to Giverny
A “purr-fect” ending to the story of the missing pottery object found in the collection of the artist’s secret granddaughter
AnalysisArt market
More than just a pretty face: furrowed brows win at Christie's patchy Old Master sale, but £6.7m sculpture tops paintings
Tacca's Hercules is star of the bronzes, while Carracci's military portrait and Rembrandt's print find favour where Rubens's daughter flounders in £31.1m sale
AnalysisArt market
Guarantees, the Beckham effect and warts-and-all portraits: Sotheby's pulls off a consistent Old Master sale
No big hitters, but overall quality and new buyers from Asia and Latin America buoyed £42.6m auction, with £5.3m record for Canova set in day sale
NewsArt market
Otto Naumann comes out of 'retirement' to join Sotheby's
Veteran Old Master dealer will join the auction house in New York at the end of the summer, months after selling his inventory there
NewsArt market
Glut of sculpture in London auctions, despite Giambologna withdrawal
Bronze and marble take centre stage during Old Masters sales week, although Dresden Mars returns home without going on the block at Sotheby's
NewsArt market
London’s contemporary art summer season in flux as middle market comes out on top
Christie’s introduces day sale format and established names give way to new talent
NewsArt market
Lucian Freud’s late reclining nude makes London record at £22.5m
Artist was 80 years old when he began the painting of a former Tate cataloguer
NewsArt market
How did Adrian Ghenie conquer the art market?
The Romanian painter’s prices have increased 160-fold over the past decade. But who, or what, is behind this steep rise?
NewsArt market
Supply wrung out? End of term feel to London Impressionist and Modern art auctions
Sotheby's sale fell below estimate while Christie’s provided some cheer, showing there is still money in Monet – but only the right one
CommentArt Basel 2018
Rapper pays $18.5m for work at auction but the artist gets nothing—is the system in need of reform?
Anny Shaw asks if auction houses and dealers should pay their dues to the artists from whom they profit
News
German museum and auctioneer Im Kinsky tussle over looted glass goblet
Object was returned to consigner not museum from where it was looted at the end of Second World War
NewsArt market
Are Sergei Skripal sanctions hitting Russian buying and selling at UK auctions?
Hostile relations between Russia and the West following attempted poisoning of former MI6 spy may dampen bidding at London's Russian sales
NewsAuction houses
Beckmann painting auctioned for record €4.7m in Berlin
Villa Grisebach says price is the highest paid for any work in a German auction
NewsArt market
Christie’s reintroduces contemporary art to its London summer calendar
Still no evening auction, but blue-chip artists make way for fresh talent in new day sale format
NewsArt market
Women speak out about the gender pay gap at UK auction houses
Blaming an ingrained culture, auction houses vow to correct imbalance in women’s pay and representation in the highest ranks
NewsArt market
Is Bonhams for sale?
Advisory group NM Rothschild has reportedly been brought in to oversee a possible sale of the British auction house
NewsArt market
Object lessons: our picks from this week's evening auctions in New York
Highlights include works by Cady Noland, Kerry James Marshall and Lyonel Feininger
NewsArt market
Online sales, Asia and guarantees: auction house chiefs on the future of the business
The heads of Christie's, Bonhams and Phillips speak on market shifts, challenges and why they believe their model will succeed
NewsArt market
Object lessons: a drawing board made for Karl Lagerfeld and more
Our pick of highlights from upcoming auctions
News
European Union tightens anti-money-laundering rules in the art market
Dealers will be compelled to verify identity of customers buying art for €10,000 or more
NewsArt market
Object lessons: a psychedelic cabinet from Gaetano Pesce and more
Our pick of highlights from upcoming auctions
NewsArt market
Object lessons: censored photographs by Dorothea Lange and more
Our pick of highlights from upcoming auctions
NewsArt market
Sotheby's backs Indian art market by launching sales in Mumbai
Announcement comes days after auction house reinstates buyer's premium in online sales
NewsArt market
Object lessons: an Egyptian beauty by Mahmoud Saïd, and the key that unlocked the Glasgow School of Art
Our pick of highlights from upcoming auctions
CommentArt market
Lifers no more: can auction houses keep their talent up?
A slew of recent high-profile departures begs the question—are top auction house executives burning out?
Melanie Gerlis