An auction house is a business establishment that facilitates the buying and selling of assets, such as works of art and collectibles.
42-550: Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie . Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Amsterdam, Geneva, Shanghai, and Dubai. It is owned by Groupe Artémis , the holding company of François Pinault . In 2022 Christie's sold US$ 8.4 billion in art and luxury goods, an all-time high for any auction house. On 15 November 2017,
84-662: A Beverly Hills saleroom in 1997. In April 2017, in moved to a 4,500 sq ft (420 m) two-story flagship space in Beverly Hills, designed by wHY . Christie's has been operating a space in Hong Kong's Alexandra House since 2014. In 2021, the company announced plans to move its Hong Kong headquarters to the Zaha Hadid -designed luxury tower The Henderson in 2024, where it will launch year-round auctions. Measuring more than 50,000 sq ft (4,600 m) over four storeys,
126-406: A bidding process system. The private individual or company managing the house, usually offer services such as clearances, collection of items, shipping, while also advising through valuations, and on fixing reserve amounts. Two auction houses emerged in eighteenth-century England that persisted leading the market. Initially specializing in the auctioning of books and literary goods, Sotheby's
168-918: A broad and critically acclaimed program of exhibitions to a large public through international exhibition spaces in London and New York. Haunch of Venison was founded in 2002, and named after the London courtyard (Haunch of Venison Yard) in which the original gallery space was based. In 2007, Haunch of Venison became a subsidiary of Christie’s International plc. but continues to operate as an independent company run by Senior International Director Emilio Steinberger. Artists represented by Haunch of Venison include Rina Banerjee , Justin Mortimer , Thomas Heatherwick , Jitish Kallat , Jamie Shovlin , Joana Vasconcelos and Turner Prize nominees Richard Long , Simon Patterson , Katie Paterson and Nathan Coley . The London gallery temporarily relocated to 6 Burlington Gardens from March 2009 to November 2011. In September 2011,
210-426: A civil lawsuit settlement of $ 512M. Christie's has been criticised for "an embarrassing history of a lack of transparency around provenance ". In 2003, Christie's was criticised for its handling of two Nazi-looted artworks claimed by heirs of the original Jewish owners. In one case, it refused to divulge to the heirs the location of an Italian painting formerly owned by Jewish Viennese banker Heinrich Graf, looted by
252-529: A deal that valued the entire company at $ 1.2bn. The company has since not been reporting profits, though it gives sale totals twice a year. Its policy, in line with UK accounting standards, is to convert non-UK results using an average exchange rate weighted daily by sales throughout the year. In 2002, Christie's France held its first auction in Paris. Like Sotheby's, Christie's became increasingly involved in high-profile private transactions. In 2006, Christie's offered
294-410: A former U.S. ambassador to Austria and founder of the web3 wallet provider Kresus . Eight days later on October 10, Christie's New York auctioned Ascend , a digital work created by Ryan Koopmans and Alice Wexell, marking the first time a piece inscribed on Bitcoin's Ordinals protocol had been sold in a live auction at Christie’s. Christie's sees this "integration of physical and digital ownership" as
336-655: A number of significant contemporary art galleries. As of 28 March 2013, Haunch of Venison ceased to represent artists, and the gallery spaces were combined with Christie’s Private Sales to focus on the secondary market. Haunch of Venison opened in New York in September 2008. The inaugural exhibition, "Abstract Expressionism - A World Elsewhere" - curated by David Anfam - showcased the paintings, sculptures and photographs of Franz Kline , Willem de Kooning , Lee Krasner , Barnett Newman , Jackson Pollock , Mark Rothko , Aaron Siskind , David Smith , and Clyfford Still . 2011 saw
378-622: A prehistoric sculpture from Sardinia , valued at $ 800,000–$ 1.2m, put on auction by Michael Steinhardt , a US-billionaire, who was given a lifetime ban on acquiring further antiquities by the Manhattan district attorney's office in 2021. After having acquired artworks with unverified provenance for years, for example by convicted art dealer Giacomo Medici , Steinhard's collection had been subjected to search warrants and investigations since 2017. He finally surrendered 180 looted and illegally smuggled antiquities valued at $ 70m. According to The Guardian ,
420-664: A reported $ 21M guarantee to the Donald Judd Foundation and displayed the artist's works for five weeks in an exhibition that later won an AICA award for "Best Installation in an Alternative Space". In 2007 it brokered a $ 68M deal that transferred Thomas Eakins 's The Gross Clinic (1875) from the Jefferson Medical College at the Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia to joint ownership by
462-631: A survey exhibition of paintings by Peter Saul . The New York gallery was based in the Rockefeller Center from 2008 to 2011. In September 2011, the gallery relocated to a new space in Chelsea , also redesigned by Annabelle Selldorf. Haunch of Venison Berlin opened in September 2007 and closed in December 2010. The gallery was located next to the city’s contemporary art museum the Hamburger Bahnhof in
SECTION 10
#1732855440537504-698: A theme rather than an art classification or time period. As part of a companywide review in 2017, Christie's announced the layoffs of 250 employees, or 12 per cent of the total work force, based mainly in Britain and Europe. In June 2021, Christie's Paris held its first sale dedicated to women artists, most notably Louise Moillon's Nature morte aux raisins et pêches . In 2022 Christie's sold $ 8.4bn in art and luxury goods, an all-time high for any auction house. Christie's agreed to acquire American classic car auction house, Gooding & Company , in September 2024. From 2008 until 2013, Christie's charged 25 per cent for
546-577: A virtually constant 70° and 50% relative humidity. Located near the Upper Bay tidal waterway near the Atlantic Ocean, the Brooklyn facility was hit by at least one storm surge during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. CFASS subsequently faced client defections and complaints arising from damage to works of art. In 2013, AXA Art Insurance filed a lawsuit in New York court alleging that CFASS' "gross negligence" during
588-479: Is a shareholder in the London-based Art Loss Register , a privately owned database used by law enforcement services worldwide to trace and recover stolen art. Since its acquisition by François Pinault, Christie's CEOs have been as follows: Auction house The auction house is the physical facility where the objects are catalogued, displayed, and presented to the perspective buyers through
630-416: Is the auctioneer , who has the task of conducting the actual auction. The auctioneer declares the rules of the auction, inform the sequence of items being sold, acknowledges bids made, and announces the winner by tapping a gavel . Haunch of Venison Haunch of Venison was a contemporary art gallery operating from 2002 until 2013. It supported the work of contemporary leading artists, presented
672-714: The Salvator Mundi was sold at Christie's in New York for $ 450 million to Saudi Prince Badr bin Abdullah Al Saud , the highest price ever paid for a painting . The official company literature states that founder James Christie (1730–1803) conducted the first sale in London on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766. However, other sources note that James Christie rented auction rooms from 1762, and newspaper advertisements for Christie's sales dating from 1759 have also been traced. After his death, Christie's son, James Christie
714-550: The Delmonico's Hotel grand ballroom on the second floor; in 1997 it took a 30-year lease on a 28,000 m (300,000 sq ft) space in Rockefeller Center for $ 40M. Until 2001, Christie's East, a division that sold lower-priced art and objects, was located at 219 East 67th Street. In 1996, Christie's bought a townhouse on East 59th Street in Manhattan as a separate gallery where experts could show clients art in complete privacy to conduct private treaty sales. Christie's opened
756-615: The Gestapo . Christie's eventually revealed the holder's name after the Jewish Community of Vienna filed a successful suit in the UK on behalf of Graf's American daughters in late 2004. In the other 2003 case Christie's declined to inform the family that it had discovered that a painting consigned to it had been looted from Ulla and Moriz Rosenthal, a Jewish couple murdered in Auschwitz. On 19 May 2020,
798-473: The Nigerian Civil War and were sold for €212,500 (after fees), below their low estimate of €250,000. Christie's claims to require "verifiable documented provenance that the object was taken out of its source nation prior to the earlier date of 2000, or the date which is legally applicable between the country in which the sale takes place and the source nation". In November 2014, Christie's had to withdraw
840-624: The Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts . In the same year, the Haunch of Venison gallery became a subsidiary of the company. On 28 December 2008, The Sunday Times reported that Pinault's debts left him "considering" the sale of Christie's and that a number of " private equity groups" were thought to be interested in its acquisition. In January 2009,
882-627: The London gallery Spink & Son , which specialised in Oriental art and British paintings; the gallery was run as a separate entity. The company bought Leger Gallery for $ 3.3M in 1996, and merged it with Spink to become Spink-Leger. Spink-Leger closed in 2002. To make itself competitive with Sotheby's in the property market, Christie's bought Great Estates in 1995, then the largest network of independent estate agents in North America, changing its name to Christie's Great Estates Inc. In December 1997, under
SECTION 20
#1732855440537924-609: The London gallery moved back to its original location at Haunch of Venison Yard, following extensive renovations by leading architect Annabelle Selldorf . In March 2012, Haunch of Venison opened a second gallery space in London, located on Eastcastle Street in Fitzrovia. The new space, launched with an exhibition by young Scottish artist Katie Paterson (9 March – 28 April). The new space is situated in Fitzrovia ; an area known historically for its artist communities and in recent years home to
966-742: The South Kensington saleroom in July 2017 as part of their restructuring plans announced in March 2017. The closure was due in part to a considerable decrease in sales between 2015 and 2016 in addition to the company expanding its online sales presence. In early 2017, Christie's also announced plans to scale back its operation in Amsterdam. In 1977, led by then Chairman Stephen Lash , the company opened its first international branch on Park Avenue in New York City in
1008-635: The United Kingdom and stored without incurring import duties and VAT . Christie's Fine Art Storage Services, or CFASS, is a wholly owned subsidiary that runs Christie's storage operation. In September 2008, Christie's signed a 50-year lease on an early 1900s warehouse of the historic N.Y.D. Company in Red Hook, Brooklyn , and subsequently spent $ 30M converting it into a six-storey, 250,000 square feet art-storage facility. The facility opened in 2010 and features high-tech security and climate controls that maintain
1050-572: The United States as a longtime employee of Christie's confessed and cooperated with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation . Numerous members of Sotheby's senior management were fired soon thereafter, and A. Alfred Taubman , the largest shareholder of Sotheby's at the time, took most of the blame; he and Dede Brooks (the CEO) were given jail sentences, and Christie's, Sotheby's and their owners also paid
1092-562: The United States in 1977. Christie's growth was slow but steady since 1989, when it had 42% of the auction market. In 1990, the company reversed a long-standing policy and guaranteed a minimum price for a collection of artworks in its May auctions. In 1996, sales exceeded those of Sotheby's for the first time since 1954. However, profits did not grow at the same pace; from 1993 through 1997, Christie's annual pretax profits were about $ 60M , whereas Sotheby's annual pretax profits were about $ 265M for those years. In 1993, Christie's paid $ 10.9M for
1134-528: The Younger (1773–1831) took over the business. Christie's was a public company, listed on the London Stock Exchange , from 1973 to 1999. In 1974, Jo Floyd was appointed chairman of Christie's. He served as chairman of Christie's International plc from 1976 to 1988, until handing over to Lord Carrington , and later was a non-executive director until 1992. Christie's International Inc. held its first sale in
1176-534: The aftermath of the murder of George Floyd , Christie's noted that there was a lack of racial diversity in the art world, and admitted that Christie's degree programs only exacerbated these inequities. However, Christie's continue to offer non-degree programmes in London, New York, Hong Kong and Amsterdam as well as online. In addition they offer an Art Business Masterclass Certificate and the Luxury Masterclass Certificate. With Bonhams , Christie's
1218-526: The auction house without any provenance in London in April 2005. Christie's had offered the Hauser heirs 50 per cent of the sale price; the heirs refused the offer and took the case to court. In 2018, Christie's began offering "digital passports" stored on the blockchain to a select number of private collectors purchasing art. These "certificates of ownership" gave the buyer a clear and transparent provenance record of
1260-402: The chairmanship of Lord Hindlip , Christie's put itself on the auction block, but after two months of negotiations with the consortium-led investment firm SBC Warburg Dillon Read it did not attract a bid high enough to accept. In May 1998, François Pinault 's holding company, Groupe Artémis S.A., first bought 29.1 per cent of the company for $ 243.2M, and subsequently purchased the rest of it in
1302-455: The company employed 2,100 people worldwide, though an unspecified number of staff and consultants were soon to be cut due to a worldwide downturn in the art market; later news reports said that 300 jobs would be cut. With sales for premier Impressionist, Modern, and contemporary artworks tallying only US$ 248.8M in comparison to US$ 739M just a year before, a second round of job cuts began after May 2009. In 2012, Impressionist works, which dominated
Christie's - Misplaced Pages Continue
1344-591: The craft supply company Hobby Lobby , who purchased material for loan or donation to The Museum of the Bible , filed a diversity action on the auction house regarding the sale and purchase of the Gilgamesh tablet by private sale agreement on 14 July 2014, allegedly while knowing the Iraqi-origin cuneiform object had a fake provenance. In June 2020, they were forced to withdraw four Greek and Roman antiquities from sale after it
1386-495: The district attorney said: "For decades, Michael Steinhardt displayed a rapacious appetite for plundered artefacts without concern for the legality of his actions, the legitimacy of the pieces he bought and sold or the grievous cultural damage he wrought across the globe. In February 2023 a French court ordered Christie's to unconditionally restitute Dutch painting The Penitent Magdalene , signed Adriaen van der Werff (1707), looted in 1942 from Lionel Hauser in Paris and last sold by
1428-483: The first $ 50,000; 20 per cent on the amount between $ 50,001 and $ 1M, and 12 per cent on the rest. From 2013, it charged 25 per cent for the first $ 75,000; 20 per cent on the next $ 75,001 to $ 1.5M and 12 per cent on the rest. As of 2023, Christie's commission (buyer's premium) is 26 per cent of the hammer price of each lot up to £800,000/US$ 1,000,000, plus 21 per cent of the hammer price from £800,001/US$ 1,000,001 up to and including £4,500,000/US$ 6,000,000, and 15 per cent on
1470-403: The future of art auctioning, and the most efficient way for buyers to know they've purchased a work with as accurate and secure a provenance as possible. Christie's first ventured into storage services for outside clients in 1984, when it opened a 100,000 square feet brick warehouse in London that was granted "Exempted Status" by HM Revenue and Customs , meaning that property may be imported into
1512-665: The hurricane damaged art collected by late cellist Gregor Piatigorsky and his wife Jacqueline Rebecca Louise de Rothschild . Later that year, StarNet Insurance Co., the insurer for the LeRoy Neiman Foundation and the artist's estate, also filed a lawsuit in New York Supreme Court claiming that the storage company's negligence caused more than $ 10M in damages to Neiman's art. Christie's Education previously offered master's degree programs in London and New York, but they were planned to be phased out in 2019. In 2020, in
1554-409: The market during the 1980s boom, were replaced by contemporary art as Christie's top category. Asian art was the third most lucrative area. With income from classic auctioneering falling, treaty sales made £413.4 million ($ 665M) in the first half of 2012, an increase of 53% on the same period last year; they now represent more than 18% of turnover. The company has since promoted curated events, centred on
1596-454: The new space, which incorporates a permanent saleroom and galleries, is comparable in size to Christie's London headquarters. In 2000, allegations surfaced of a price-fixing arrangement between Christie's and Sotheby's . Executives from Christie's subsequently alerted the Department of Justice of their suspicions of commission-fixing collusion . Christie's gained immunity from prosecution in
1638-665: The piece of art they were purchasing, a record that could never be erased or manipulated, and accessible worldwide. Six years later in October 2024, two Christie's auctions exhibited this block-chain technology in the most public events to date. In the first, on October 2, Christie's New York showcased the work of Diane Arbus and Cindy Sherman in An Eye Towards the Real: Photographs from the Collection of Ambassador Trevor Traina -
1680-537: The rest. As of 2023, Christie's has offices in 46 countries worldwide, with salerooms in London, New York, Paris, Geneva, Milan, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. Christie's flagship saleroom is in London on King Street in St. James's , where it has been based since 1823. It had a second London saleroom in South Kensington which opened in 1975 and primarily handled the middle market. Christie's permanently closed
1722-470: Was discovered that they came from "sites linked to convicted antiquities traffickers". The same month, they were criticised for putting up a Benin plaque and two Igbo alusi figures for auction. The plaque was tied to similar plaques taken from Nigeria during the Benin Expedition of 1897 and remained unsold after an auction was held. The alusi figures are alleged to have been taken from Nigeria during
Christie's - Misplaced Pages Continue
1764-474: Was founded in 1744, and in 1766 Christie's opened by auctioning paintings and decorative arts. Auctioned goods may vary from fine wines to toys, from furniture to entire estates. As the range of goods sold at these auction houses expanded, they opened auctions over the phone first, and on the Internet after, making possible purchasing goods fully remotely. One of the most relevant roles within an auction house
#536463