Christie's

CHRISTIE’S are to replace a wide range of specialist picture sales with a new sale category incorporating 600 years of traditional Western art. The change will be implemented worldwide from May across their salerooms in London, New York, Milan, Paris and Amsterdam.

CHRISTIE’S have confirmed that their Antiquities department at South Kensington will continue as before, with sales in April and October.

More details have emerged regarding the ‘breach-of-contract’ lawsuit which claims that Christie’s backed out of a $40m guarantee made to secure a Francis Bacon self-portrait for sale.

In a final bid to block the sale of two €28m (£25.4m) imperial bronzes, a Chinese collector revealed himself as the winning bidder and said he had no intention of paying for them.

As befitting a sale with world-famous brand associations, Christie’s dispersal of the Yves Saint Laurent–Pierre Bergé collection in Paris was more like a rock concert or fashion show than an auction.

CHRISTIE’S year-end results for 2008 show that Europe, including the UK, is currently their premier global market in terms of sales, with a total of £1.24bn compared to £1.02bn in the United States.

Fittingly for a man whose career started in the 1930s, last week's sale of the Roger Warner collection at Christie's South Kensington was just like old times.

The death last year aged 98 of Roger Warner brought to a close the long career of one of the last old school eclectic but knowledgeable country dealers.

The Chinese ceramics and works of art market is undergoing a price readjustment after a decade of unfettered growth, a trend highlighted at the latest Asian sales series staged at Christie's Hong Kong.

Christie’s have announced a number of changes to their South Kensington operation – the first tangible evidence that the London salerooms are reviewing strategy following the downturn witnessed in recent sales.

The 17th century Wittelsbach diamond was bought for £14.6m (plus premium) by dealer Laurence Graff at Christie’s on December 10, beating the previous auction record – the $16.5m paid for a 100 carat rock at Sotheby’s Geneva in 1995.

Old Masters provided some solace for the London auction rooms last week, posting the solid totals and some eye-catching prices to suggest this most established of markets will ride the downturn better than its modern counterparts.

with buy-in rates exceeding 60 per cent at many sales, Russian Week in London proved this hitherto burgeoning market to be as vulnerable to the economic crisis as any other.

WHEN Jeremy and Hotspur, two of London’s best-known furniture dealerships, announced in the late summer that they were shutting up shop and selling off their remaining stock, few could have predicted the ensuing market slump. Both dealerships, who intend to continue as consultants, must have had their fingers crossed at Christie’s on November 20, when the sale took place.

ENGLISH goldwork from the Renaissance period does not survive in great quantity. So the appearance of a 16th century Tudor gold livery collar on the market at Christie's earlier this month was a rare occasion.

Christie’s have clarified their position on storage for picture lots sold in their Interior sales at South Kensington following some confusion.

THE latest series of contemporary art auctions in New York showed how much the market has fallen since its peak. With sale totals down well over 50 per cent from last year’s autumn series held at the height of the boom, the extent of the damage caused by the current economic distress and diminished confidence amongst buyers was manifest. The question now is will prices stabilise or fall further?

AS millions of Americans celebrated the victory of Barack Obama, Christie's announced that they will be offering an important memento from another historic Presidential election which brought a sense of hope to the country.

Following the sometimes painful results of last week's Impressionist and Modern art sales in New York, there can now be little doubt that the worldwide financial distress is undermining demand for trophy paintings and sculpture. All sales missed their low estimates by some margin.

DESPITE falling stocks, banks freezing and now top-end contemporary art taking a tumble, Samuel John Peploe's (1871-1935) Roses sold at £440,000 hammer to a UK private buyer at Christie's Scottish art sale in Edinburgh. With premium included, this was a record for a Scottish Colourist, although not a hammer record.