How to put a lot up for auction at Sotheby's. The largest auctions in Europe: where and when

Sotheby's history. Part 1.

First mentions of auctions we find in ancient Babylonian sources dating back to the 5th century BC.

In those ancient times, “under the hammer,” as we would say now, young brides sold well. Auction was known in ancient Rome, where this word itself arose. With the collapse of the Roman Empire, this type of trade disappeared for several centuries, but then was revived in Medieval Europe. The emergence of modern auctions is historically associated with the Kingdom of the Netherlands. But in terms of influence and cash flow, England takes the lead. It was this country that became the birthplace of the largest auction houses - and the first of them was the company we now know as Sotheby's.

These days, Sotheby's holds auctions all over the world: in Europe, America, Asia and Africa. Sotheby's branches operate in forty countries. The company's annual financial turnover has long exceeded the billion dollar mark. Sotheby's - auction works of art and objects antiques. He sells both ancient masterpieces and modern works, exhibiting lots in seventy categories of collectibles. Purchasing antiques at Sotheby's is considered a sign of respectability. The authority of the auction house serves as a guarantee of a promising investment of capital. Sotheby's has world sales records: lots that sold for tens of millions of dollars. And the history of Sotheby's began on March 11, 1744, when Sir Samuel Baker, a London bookseller, arranged the sale of “several hundred rare and valuable books” from the collection of a certain Sir John Stanley, who died untimely, and successfully made £800 from it.

Sotheby's auction - a “book” beginning

The book was not only a source of knowledge, but also a matter of prestige for the English gentleman of the Enlightenment. Books were fashionable. Aristocrats sought to acquire extensive libraries. But since fate is perverse and human life is not eternal, book collections were often sold - when the owner fell into difficult financial circumstances, or by heirs after his death. The enterprising Baker made good money at book auctions. He was the first in England - and therefore in the whole world - to begin printing second-hand book catalogs with fixed prices. In 1754, Samuel Baker was the first to open a permanent auction hall in London. History has preserved the name of his partner, Sir George Lee, who gained fame for his talent in trading. Baker's company was a closed high-society club: grimy "cockneys" were not allowed there, the purity of aristocratic blood was respected both among clients and among auctioneers.

Although Baker's merit as the founder of the company is undeniable, the auction did not get its famous name from him. Sotheby's is the surname of Sir Baker's nephew Sir John, who began working with his uncle twenty years after the first book auction. When Baker died, Sir John Sotheby inherited part of the company, and since 1778 it has bore its current name. In the 19th century, Sotheby's established itself as the world's largest auction of book rarities. His auctions included the richest libraries, including those that belonged to prominent historical figures: the libraries of the Dukes of York and Buckingham, Napoleon's library, which he took to St. Helena, a collection of books by Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, a French politician and agent of several world intelligence services, and many others.

Sotheby's history. Part 2.

Bye politics auction house determined by the Sotheby's family, the company stubbornly stuck to the second-hand book market. Since Samuel Baker's first auction in March 1744, the range of items sold has been only slightly expanded to include engravings, medals and antique coins. However, running a successful business required flexibility and understanding of the trends of the times.

With the development of printing, the book ceased to be an elite product. The purchasing audience for books has democratized. The demand for rare libraries has fallen - even in good old England with its conservative traditions. After World War I, new leadership Sotheby's took up the sale of fine art and paintings by old masters. At the same time, the move from Wellington Street, where the company was located for many decades, to an elegant and respectable residence on New Bond Street. Finding such a new face turned out to be perhaps no less important than changing the sales profile auction. New Bond is a small but busy street in London, a place of cozy cafes, small restaurants, and luxury shops. The white three-story house at number 34/35 immediately attracts the attention of a passerby. Above the arched entrance - quite unexpectedly - Egyptian Sekhmet(the mistress of wars, diseases and the scorching sun, a formidable and, if you believe the myths, a bloodthirsty goddess) - a fragment of an ancient statue. Above the goddess is a flag with a strict, laconic Sotheby’s logo.

This building once housed Monsieur's workshop Gustave Doré. Here the great illustrator worked on an album dedicated to London. Perhaps the house's past, its connection with art history, played a role. New wealthy clients flocked to the auction rooms at New Bond, now collectors of paintings and expensive items. antiques. This house still houses the London headquarters of Sotheby's - and the goddess with the head of a lioness has become its unique emblem. The next chapter in the history of Sotheby's is associated with the name of Sir Peter Wilson and his activities as general director (since 1936). Through the efforts of Wilson, the auction house shifted attention from the “old masters” (reflecting candlelight in the dim galleries of family castles) to the paintings of the impressionists and modernists.

Let's be objective: Sir Peter's choice cannot be called super-original. The work of innovative artists (who chose Paris as their capital) has been in the center of public attention for half a century. It was these paintings that became the reason for controversy, scandals, accusations and delight. It was their authors, daring subverters of the canons, who after some ten to fifteen years turned into respectable classics of the new art - and their paintings turned out to be not “daubs” at all and were already worth a lot of money. The cultural phenomenon of modernism and its commercial potential were visible to art sellers even before Wilson and without Wilson. The French “Marchands” (with whom our Morozov and Shchukin once shopped) introduced the world to the most significant impressionists, cubists, fauvists, and surrealists. But the active energy of the head of Sotheby's, his ability to turn paintings by his contemporaries into fabulously expensive lots, the desire to organize the business on an international scale - all this was of historical significance, serving not only the prosperity of the company, but also the creation of the world painting market as such. An important success and a notable milestone in the history of Sotheby's was the sale in 1958 of the collection of impressionists by Jacob Goldschmidt (a major German banker who emigrated to the United States in the 1930s). For the first time in London, paintings sent by a seller from overseas were sold.

The composition of the auction participants was also international. The seven paintings on display sold out in just 21 minutes. Revenue amounted to 781 thousand pounds sterling - a record amount for painting sales at that time. For Paul Cezanne (“The Boy in the Red Vest”), American millionaire and hereditary collector Paul Mellon paid 220 thousand pounds, which was five times higher than the boy’s previous auction price. The interest of the wealthy public in the new art was firmly established. In the 1950s, Sotheby's sales rose from £1.5 million to £6 million. The painting trade has become a serious business - with its own specifics and intriguing surprises. Sensational news of international auctions hit the front pages of newspapers.

Sotheby's was founded by bookseller Samuel Baker, who held his first auction in 1744 in London and published the first fixed-price book catalogue. In 1754, Baker opened a permanent auction hall. For a century, Baker and his successors specialized exclusively in books and were the organizers of the auctions of all famous libraries, including those of the Prince of Talleyrand, the Dukes of York and Buckingham, and the library of Napoleon, which the Emperor took with him into exile on St. Helena.
In 1778, the business passed to Baker's nephew John Sotheby, whose heirs headed the firm for more than 80 years. Since 1778, the company became known as Sotheby's. During this period the company expanded its activities into the sale of engravings, coins, medals and other antiques, but its main business remained bookselling.
There was an unspoken agreement, according to which furniture and paintings were sent to Christie's, which assigned all books to Sotheby's. It was broken in 1913 by the sale of Frans Hals' Portrait of a Man, which sold for a good price for that time of £9,000. And in 1917 a large sale took place, for the first time including paintings along with furniture and engravings. In 1955, the company opened a representative office in New York, and in 1964, it made the even more prescient decision to acquire Park-Burnet Auctions, the largest art auction house in the United States. Having become the property of Sotheby's, the Park-Bernet auction house took a key position in the rapidly growing North American market for the sale of impressionist and modernist paintings.
Sotheby's was a closed "club" where only aristocrats could get work. By the early 1980s, Sotheby's was practically bankrupt. In 1983, Sotheby's was sold to American entrepreneur A. Alfred Taubman, the owner of a large chain of stores. Today Sotheby's has more than 100 offices around the world, including a branch in Moscow. In 2000, Sotheby's became the first international art auction house to conduct auctions online. Among the most interesting lots sold online is the first print of the Declaration of Independence (more than $8 million).

Christie's

Drotheum auction house

300 years after its foundation, the Dorotheum, established in 1707, is the largest auction house in Central Europe, the largest in the German-speaking area, as well as one of the leading auctioneers worldwide.

The Dorotheum hosts about 600 auctions a year, and more than 100 specialists attend to over 40 departments.

Tradition, our specialists’ expertise and market experience, personal service, a broad selection, and international outlook – this is what our clients appreciate about the Dorotheum.

Founded more than 300 years ago, the Dorotheum continues today on its successful course and is enjoying an increase in turnover. Building on its list of international contacts is one of the main focuses of its activities. Some of its most important international offices are in Brussels, Düsseldorf, Munich, Rome and Milan.

Gildings Auctioneers

Karl & Faber Kunstauktionen

Bali Auction House, Bali Muzayede

Troostwijk Auctions and Valuations

Auctions House Ruetten

Art and money have been at the center of human attention for centuries. Genres and trends have changed, but interest in the mystery of creating great paintings and their sky-high prices is always great. How is the price of a lot determined at an auction? Who determines that “Sewing machine with umbrellas in a surreal landscape” by Salvador Dali today sells for 2 million euros, and “Cathedral Square. Milan” by contemporary artist Gerhard Richter goes under the hammer for 51 million? The best way to experience the world of big money and art is to go to auctions and get first-hand information.

The auction house Sotheby's is one of the oldest. Since its founding in London in 1744, the geography and influence of these trades on the world market have changed significantly. Today, its headquarters are located in New York, with branches scattered around the world, including Paris, Zurich and Toronto. The annual turnover of the house reaches several billion dollars. Sotheby's auctions are free and open to everyone, even if you are not bidding. Most trading takes place during the day, but some start in the evening, in which case you will need a ticket to attend.

Auctions usually take place four times a year in London and New York. Attending such an event is a special and incomparable experience. Here you can see works by your favorite artists and sculptors that cannot be found in museum or gallery collections. Surrounded by the best specialists from the world of trading, you become a witness to the mysteries of buying and selling items from several dozen categories: from ancient art to paintings by contemporary artists.

Today, Sotheby's is recognized by professionals as a leader in the Contemporary Art category, the main sales of which take place annually in May and November in New York and in February and June in London.

Christie's

Another titan in the world of auction business and Sotheby’s main competitor is Christie’s, whose main location also managed to change from London to New York. The activities of both together account for about 90% of the world market for auction sales of antiques and art objects.

Christie's makes over six hundred sales a year, an average of two sales a day. The auctions are held in 80 categories: fine and decorative arts, jewelry, photographs, furniture and interior items and much more. One of the most promising areas of development for Christie's is the permanent Russian department and the prestigious Russian Sales.

The Russian department holds auctions every year in April in New York and in November in London, each time setting new sales records. The latest auction in London, for example, brought in 16.9 million pounds. Like Sotheby's, this auction house sets a minimum price at auction, which gradually increases, and the lot goes to the highest bidder.

Pre-auction exhibitions Sotheby's and Christie's

You can see the works of art that will be sold for millions at two major auctions by visiting exhibitions organized by auction houses before the auction. To increase the number of visitors, they are arranged not only in the main premises of Christie's (Rockefeller Plaza) and Sotheby's (York Avenue), but also brought to the world's largest capitals: Moscow, Tokyo, London and Paris. The highlight of such exhibitions is in the premises chosen by the organizers. It always combines historical value for the residents of a particular country and at the same time is reliable and safe enough for storing expensive lots.

Bonhams

Following the two leaders in sales of world cultural heritage objects, experts usually call the auction house Bonhams. The world's third largest auction house sells across 70 categories, including paintings and cars, musical instruments and home furnishings. Bonhams has branches in the USA, Australia, South Africa and Hong Kong. Such a wide geographical distribution allows this auction house to conduct more than 700 auctions per year around the world. Auctions are held in different cities depending on the specifics of the lots and the category that is being offered for sale.

Dorotheum

In German-speaking countries, the leadership belongs to the Viennese auction house Dorotheum. Over 300 years of existence make it the oldest major auction in the world. The headquarters of this house have not moved anywhere and are still located in Vienna. The only change within the framework of the globalization of the world art market is new representations in some Austrian cities, for example, in Salzburg, as well as in other parts of Europe, for example, in Prague and Milan. Every year, Dorotheum holds about 600 auctions, most of which are daily “auctions without a catalog” at the Dorotheum Palace in the Austrian capital. However, the most important part of the sale is the series of four main auction weeks. It is during them that auctions of rare works of fine art are held - from works of old masters to art nouveau and contemporary art.

Another feature of this house is its own jewelry store, Dorotheuma, which is currently the largest in Austria.

• 1940 Matisse's painting “Persian Dress” sold for $17 million, original price less than $12 million.
• 1990 Vincent van Gogh's painting “Portrait of Doctor Gachet” was sold for $80 million (the most expensive painting at auction).
• 2001 Pablo Picasso’s painting from the Blue Period series, “Woman with Crossed Arms,” sold for $55 million, twice the starting price.

https://www. sothebys.com

Sothebys

Address: 1334 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021

The history of Sotheby's, one of the oldest art auctions in the world, began in 1744 in London. The company's founder, Samuel Baker, originally auctioned off books. At an early stage of activity, the company passed through the richest libraries in the world from the collection of prominent figures, including the library of Napoleon Bonaparte.

By the end of the First World War, the Sotheby's auction house had significantly expanded its scope of activity and was already engaged in the trade of other rarities - engravings, medals and coins. The firm also moved into the famous building on New Bond Street, which remains its London residence to this day. The move to this fashionable street marked the beginning of a new era in the history of Sotheby's - finally, the trade in paintings and other works of art began to generate a significant portion of the profit compared to the turnover on the second-hand book market. Thanks to the change in profile, the company achieved a record growth in turnover in the 60s under the leadership of Peter Wilson.

It was Wilson, who came to Sotheby's in 1936, who brought the company to the international level. He provided the company with enormous profits from sales of paintings by impressionists and modernists, which enjoyed unprecedented popularity. Perhaps the most sensational and significant during Wilson’s tenure in the management of the company were the auctions that took place in 1958 and went down in history under the name “Goldschmidt auctions”. All seven paintings up for auction were sold within just 21 minutes. Revenue amounted to £781,000 - at that time a record amount for sales of works of fine art. Paul Mellon bought Cezanne's portrait of The Boy in a Red Waistcoat for £220,000, five times the previous record price for a painting sold at auction. The Goldschmidt auction became one of the most significant cultural events in 1958 and, perhaps, the most exciting art auction of the century.

Mainly thanks to the intuition of Peter Wilson, Sotheby's was the first auction house to recognize the prospects of trading works of art on the international market. That is why in 1955 the company opened a representative office in New York, and in 1964 made an even more far-sighted decision to acquire the auction company Park -Bernet, the largest auction house in the United States specializing in works of art. Having become the property of Sotheby's, the Park-Bernet auction house has taken a key position in the rapidly growing North American market for the sale of impressionist and modernist paintings.

Having included the largest American auction house, Sotheby's continued to look for ways to expand its influence. Over time, the company's representative offices opened all over the world.

Sotheby's holds over 350 auctions a year, most of which take place in two main trading rooms - in New York and London. The remaining auctions are held in foreign trading rooms - in Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Geneva, Paris, Milan, Zurich, Melbourne and Singapore.

Purchase at Sotheby's auction

• Anyone can participate in Sotheby's auctions completely free of charge. Approximately 3-7 days before the start of trading, lots are put on public display. Bidding catalogs can be obtained approximately one month before the auction. The catalogs contain a detailed description of each lot, information about its origin and exhibition, links to references in specialized literature and an approximate cost. The electronic version of the catalogs can be viewed on the auction house website in English, French and Italian.
• You can offer a price for a lot put up at auction by personally attending the auction or submitting an application for absentee participation. The application form is included on the last page of any Sotheby's catalog. In some cases, it is possible to accept a bid from a potential buyer by telephone.
• The auction house Sotheby's charges a commission, the so-called buyer's percentage. The commission is added to the highest price offered by the winning bidder (auction price) and is included in the total purchase price.
• We accept checks or money orders, Visa, MasterCard and American Express credit cards, and cash (subject to some restrictions).
• You can receive the purchased lot in the sales area or by mail.