Page History

"Christie's Auction Room", by Thomas Rowlandson & Augustus Charles Pugin from The Microcosm of London, Volume 1 (London: R. Ackerman, 1810).
Located on the south side of Pall Mall, Christie's has been auctioning high end commodities, ancient artifacts, art, jewelry, furniture, and other personal properties since 1762. The sales rooms are large, light, and airy, simply furnished, and tastefully appointed. Pre-auction viewings are conducted and bidding by proxy is allowed. Owned and managed by John Christie. 

Going once: A packed Christies sale room looks on as telephone bidders vie for the most important (and the largest) of Monet's Waterlilies, sold at Christie's, London for an astonishing £40.1 million on June 24, 2008, setting a record price for the artist and a record for any Impressionist painting.

DAY 10 Today is Thursday, January 12^th, and we are examining the role of the auctions in the art market. In 2012, Christie's will be 250 years old.

How have the bidding room, the buyers, the sellers and the works offered for sale changed in the last 250 years? Just a quick examination of

the two opening images on this page should provide some clues. Read Sarah Thornton's chapter on "the Auction." Choose a recent sale of fine

art at a noted American or European auction house (or their subsidiaries in Asia or the Middle East) – and discuss its significance with regards

to some of the points that Thornton raises about auctions and the players involved. 

Readings

Read the following excerpt on "the Auction" from Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton (New York: W.W. Norton, 2008).

Thornton_Auction.pdf

Watch Christie's' Christopher Burge in action selling an Andy Warhol large Campbell's Soup Can, silkscreen, 1962 for $23.8M (including buyer's premium):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boaFiyICN0w&feature=related

Further Reading "Show me the Monet... Impressionist's water lilies go for record £40m"

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1029279/Show-Monet--Impressionists-water-lilies-record-40m.html#ixzz1OhUihNNS
 

Individual Contributions

Consider & comment:
Please use this space to respond to your classmates' work and to engage in lively discussions on the day's topic. Keep your comments concise and conversational by responding to others, rebutting or supporting their ideas. Use the comment box below for these observations.