Christie's Auction. Christie's auction - history of creation

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

Auction House Ruetten

Twice a year, Christie's auction house organizes an auction of Russian art in London, and the rest of the time it is proud of the records it has set and tirelessly reminds us of the connection with our country, which was formed back in the 18th century. Then the founder of the house, James Christie, helped Empress Catherine II to acquire the collection of Sir Robert Walpole, which formed the basis of the State Hermitage collection. Since then, Russia’s friendship with Christie’s has only grown stronger.

When we arrived at Christie's headquarters on King Street, we had no idea how everything worked in it, much less could we imagine that under our feet, planted firmly on the patterned carpet in the foyer, there was a large storage room with Russian art. While the cultural population of Moscow dreams of looking behind the scenes of the Pushkin Museum, the Hermitage or the Tretyakov Gallery and does not have such an opportunity, and we share their unfulfilled desires, foreign museums, galleries and theaters turn out to be more accessible. Christie's Repository is an equally sacred place. , the same as the costume department of the Bolshoi Theater or the Ansaldo workshop in Milan, where they create monumental sets for La Scala performances. If the last two places are periodically given excursions, and the RGBI storage facility, for example, is even opened to everyone as part of “Library Night,” then it is almost impossible to get behind the scenes of one of the oldest auction houses without being involved in it. Christie's showed us the sidelines, leaving a section with Russian art for dessert, but, as often happens, they were not allowed to photograph anything. However, after the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva, where at the entrance they take away all things from each visitor, including mobile phones, such Bans won’t surprise anyone.

If you enter the building at 8 King Street and turn left from the main staircase, you will see an iron door that can only be opened with a special pass. Hidden behind it is a small spiral staircase decorated with posters and posters. Going underground, to the ground floor, you will find repositories of Russian, Islamic, and Indian art, where specialists are collecting lots for the upcoming auction. Before entering each tightly closed room, you experience confusion - like that moment when the cover that hides them is removed from masterpieces or when a theater curtain swings open. This moment we met in the company of the head of Christie's Russian art department, Sarah Mansfield, who kindly took us through the closed areas.

If in the repository of the Vienna Museum Essl (we remembered it at the recent auction at Christie's, where they sold the collection of the museum's founder, the Austrian Karlheinz Essl), you need to pull the handrails with all your might in order to bring out three-meter stands with German paintings, then the miniature one in comparison with him, Christie's Russian art section impresses with its comfort and warm atmosphere. It looks like a small library in an old building from the time of classicism, which can be found, for example, in the Moscow art school named after Serov. Paintings by Russian artists: Lentulov, Mashkov, Grigoriev are arranged in a row on wooden shelves. Above the desks hang shelves with Russian books, and enamel figurines, copper dishes, porcelain figurines, lamps and other objects of decorative and applied art are placed randomly nearby. All treasures are at arm's length: there is no glass or protective shells. “This is very rare,” Sarah handed me a lamp with a soft pink lampshade, created in the collaboration of Tiffany and Faberge, which was acquired by Empress Maria Feodorovna in 1901. She showed us antique Russian dishes, then pulled out several oil paintings for the upcoming auction and carried one of them into a tiny, lonely room. “Come in,” Sarah closes the door, and we find ourselves in the dark. Here, under the light of an ultraviolet lamp, Christie's experts examine the objects of art that came to them, finding defects and traces of restoration - those that cannot be noticed either in daylight or with electricity. In the sky of the landscape that she brought for inspection, we discovered a dark spot - this, according to Sarah, means that someone slightly restored the painting decades after its creation. When we again came out into the white light, the “secret” spot again became invisible.

In other departments of Christie's there are the same impressive warehouses full of sculptures, canvases and stretchers, and only in one room the light is on: from there you can hear the constant clicks of the camera shutter. Ancient Chinese vases, paintings by Pablo Picasso, sculptures by Jeff Koons and other objects of art necessarily pass in front of the lens of Christie's photographer, who over the years of work has seen almost more art than all the other employees of the auction house. I remember the photo lab of LIFE magazine, shown in the film “The Incredible Life of Walter Mitty,” where the main character, who has been working in his position for 16 years, is immersed in the work of the entire magazine and knows it inside and out. Each photograph for the catalog takes the photographer 60-70 frames and about 20 minutes of work. At the same time, Christie's has as many as six photo studios in a mansion on King Street, where all the main lots are taken.

Results of Russian weeks - 2014

Christie's experts always talk about the Russian department as the fastest growing. The results of recent years clearly illustrate this. This summer, at the auction of Russian art, Christie's received record revenue - £24 million, about £200 thousand ahead of its main competitor - the oldest auction Sotheby's house. If you look at 2013, the then £12.4 million was 49% higher than the revenue from similar auctions in 2012.

November 24, 2014 is now a special date in Christie's calendar. On this day, an absolute record was set for a work sold at Russian auctions. Thus, the canvas Valentina Serova "Portrait of Maria Tsetlin" went under the hammer for £9.3 million ($14.5 million). The list of ten top lots also included “Portrait of Alexander Tikhonov” by Yuri Annenkov (purchased for £4 million by a Russian dealer), two paintings by Boris Grigoriev, pieces by Faberge, a rare Soviet vase produced at the State Porcelain Factory in St. Petersburg, and other works of fine and decorative art.

Christie's auction dedicated to printed materials, in which Russian books were exhibited, was held in South Kensington the next day, November 25. 205 items were put up for sale, including 38 lots with Russian provenance, for example, a translation dedicated to Simon Chikovani Goethe's Faust (by Boris Pasternak), which went under the hammer for £6,875 ($10,766), as well as other valuable documents The Russian department will now quiet down for a while before preparations begin for the 2015 summer auction.

First row

The two main people who promote the Russian department are Alexey Tizenhausen and Sarah Mansfield. Connecting New York, Moscow and London, they have been together for ten years. heads the international department of Russian art at Christie's for 23 years and knows it better than anyone else. Tiesenhausen's track record includes large sales of Faberge collections in the late 1990s, and a particularly impressive one in 2007, when Christie's managed to sell a Faberge egg from the Rothschild collection for $18.5 million and set a new price record. He is also involved in cataloging all works of art that fall into the Russian departments, and is a mandatory figure at all Christie's pre-auction vernissages held in Moscow.

visits Russia more often than others: making several business visits a year, she made a lot of friends in Moscow, honed her knowledge of the Russian language and acquired important notes in her biography. Through the efforts of Ms. Mansfield, who mainly deals with Russian painting, in recent years Christie's has managed to sell several works of art for record sums. The most striking example is “Flowers” ​​by Natalia Goncharova, which in 2008 went under the hammer for more than $10 million, setting a record the cost of the artist's works. Other major achievements are the sale of paintings by Abram Arkhipov ("On the Market"), Ivan Aivazovsky ("American Ship at the Rocks of Gibraltar") and Konstantin Somov.

Russian context

A whole galaxy of events was dedicated to the weeks of Russian auctions in London, which in addition to Christie's were also held by Sotheby's, Bonhams and MacDougall's. It is worth noting that neither sanctions nor the general situation in the world prevent the cross-year of culture Russia and Great Britain ended successfully. Interest in Russian culture not only does not fade, but, on the contrary, it flares up. The results of this year’s auction, as well as the very Russian autumn months for London, are proof of this.

London's Pace Gallery, for example, always in the front row at art fairs and with ten venues around the world (just shy of the Gagosian Gallery), opened a major exhibition by Olga Chernyshova in one of its spaces on November 25th. This Moscow artist, famous for her projects at international biennales (in 2001, for example, she represented Russia in Venice), first came to Pace and immediately found herself on Lexington Street, occupying the site for almost two months. Chernyshova works freely in various media, excelling both in graphics, photography and painting, as well as in creating video installations. All genres are mixed together at London's Pace, forming a common canvas that reveals Russia in general and Moscow in particular. It is interesting that, in parallel with the London exhibition, Chernyshova is also shown in Antwerp: there her works are mixed with the permanent collection of the museum, and, it is worth noting, they contrast with it no less brightly than the works of Wim Delvoye and the familiar Pushkin halls.

We also note the opening of the new building of the Russified Phillips auction house in Berkeley Square, the active participation of Russian collectors in the October Frieze Art Week, the screening of the play “As You Like It” based on Shakespeare’s play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on the stage of the Barbican Center and other related Autumn events in Russia.

Perhaps the main Russian event of December was hosted by Charles Saatchi in his gallery. He decided to reconcile Russia with the rest of the world and mixed in one exhibition “Post-Pop: Meeting East and West” works by artists from the USA, Great Britain, China, Taiwan, Russia and the CIS countries. Thus, video installations by AES+F, paintings by Eric Bulatov and Vladimir Dubossarsky, installations by Ilya and Emilia Kabakov are combined with works by Chinese activist Ai Weiwei, American sculptor Daniel Arsham, iconic post-war artists Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, as well as exhibits from the British Glenn Brown, Gary Hume, Marc Quinn and many others. Milestones of the 20th century in the works of artists of that time and their echoes in contemporary art can be studied from November 26 to February 23, 2015.

On April 15 and 16, 2013, two leading auction houses in New York hosted interesting auctions of Russian antiques, which will be discussed in the new material on-line Magazine Elegant New York.

A long trail of history and a light veil of mystery colors our attitude towards auctions in romantic tones. The personalities of those who, attending auctions, leave multi-digit sums there, expertly purchasing antiques and art objects, are intriguing and arouse interest. The statement that this world belongs only to very, very wealthy people seems indisputable to us. But, like any stereotype, this point of view is only partly true.

It is not at all necessary to emulate the King of Qatar, who, not so long ago, was lucky enough to purchase Paul Cezanne’s painting “The Card Players” for 300,000,000. He, without hesitation, paid an amount that had never been paid for any work of art in the world. But, as they say, Caesar’s is Caesar’s, God’s is God’s, ... and to each his own.

The turnover of the world's leading auctions cannot fail to impress - according to Bloomberg, in 2012 the total value of the 10 most expensive art objects was $594.6 million, which was 44% higher than in 2011 ($413.6 million).

And statistics, as they say, are a stubborn thing and you don’t need to be a king to agree with leading financial experts - investments in works of art and antiques, these days, bring more significant profits than investments in, say, real estate. Who among us hasn’t thought about investing in an apartment or land over the last 15-20 years?

The latest economic crisis in the world has shown that bank deposits, real estate, and securities are far from controversial as a means of preserving and multiplying capital, but unique antiques are always in price. Moreover, in the modern world, collecting antiques and works of art is not the prerogative of only rich people; everyone can find their niche here. It is not for nothing that there is now an intensive growth in the interest of ordinary people who consider themselves to be in the “middle class” in investing in antiques and art.
Thinking about this phenomenon, I decided to visit New York auction houses. True, not yet for the purpose of investment, but with the firm intention of seeing what’s what and how everything happens.

The history of auctions began in the 18th century. One waiting, 1707, to the Austrian Emperor Joseph I I came up with the idea of ​​selling art objects by auction to someone who can give a higher price. These first auctions formed the basis of the oldest auction house Dorotheum. Soon, picking up the original and profitable idea of ​​the Austrian monarch, the now famous English auction houses were createdSotheby's (Sotheby‘ s) AndChristie's (Christie` s).

Christie's ( Christie ’ s) - auction houseEngland, founded in London in 1766. It is believed that it was Christie ’ s turned the process of auction trading into a kind of art. The most significant auctions took place here XVIII And XIX centuries. None other than James Christie, the founder of the House, brokered the sale of the outstanding collection of paintings by Robert Walpole, the English Prime Minister, to Empress Catherine II. These paintings became the beginning of the Hermitage museum collection.

Sotheby's ( Sotheby ’ s) – arose a little earlier than Christie's ( Christie ’ s) - however, for more than a century and a half, the company was engaged in the sale of rare books and did not expand its scope of activity. First painting auction Sotheby ’ s was held only in 1917, and in the middle of the 20th century it reached the international level and since then two London houses have been leading and competing in the painting and antiques market.

Exactly, these two auction houses became the goal of one of my New York walks. Moreover, on April 15 and 16, both houses held auctions of Russian art objects of the 19th and early 20th centuries, including rare items from the Faberge jewelry company. These auctions were included in the spring program Russian Works of Art auctions Sotheby's (Sotheby‘ s) AndChristie's (Christie` s) .

As you know, auction houses publish high-quality catalogs for all their auctions, in the preparation of which several hundred experts take part. Such catalogs provide comprehensive information about the items being sold, and they are rightly called illustrated sales guides. Arriving at Rockefeller Center, where Christie’s auction house is located (you can enter it from 49th Street) and armed with such a catalog, I went to inspect the collection.

Before each auction, the auction house sets up an exhibition where all the lots are displayed. This exhibition lasts 5-6 days and anyone can visit it for free. As a rule, the exhibited collections are worthy of the best museums and consist of unique items belonging to private individuals. Moreover, most of these things were not exposed to the general public for a long time, or never at all, except perhaps before the previous auction sale. Inspecting such a collection is extremely interesting: the showrooms are spacious and, as a rule, not crowded, and the knowledge that the things in front of you are collected together and available for inspection only for a very short time gives rise to a pleasant feeling of exclusivity.

Moreover, unlike the museum, where vigilant grandmothers constantly repeat: “don’t touch them with your hands,” here elegant young people kindly offer to open the display case and let them hold in their hands in order to carefully examine any of the things on display, be it a snuff box by Faberge or a medallion Nicholas II in an elegant frame decorated with diamonds.
This time, 166 lots were offered at the Christie's auction. The products, many of which belonged to the royal family or their immediate circle, are made of silver, bronze, gold, many with the Faberge mark. Cigarette cases, boxes, photo frames, lorgnettes, snuff boxes, cigarette holders, animal figurines, figurines, cutlery, dishes, vases, letters, postcards, telegrams - such a set of everyday things for the past centuries was put up for sale.

At an auction, each product has a range of expected prices, which is set by an expert, having previously agreed with the seller. If none of the buyers gives the minimum specified price, the lot is removed from auction. It happens that a lot goes for a price that lies within the range named by the expert, but more often it significantly exceeds the upper limit. As, for example, what happened at the auction on April 15: a silver dish with partial gilding, decorated with an engraved and embossed silver napkin emitting silk lace, was sold for $62,500, with an estimated price of $4,000-$6,000.

It is interesting that anyone can attend the auction, without prior registration, but in order to participate in the auction, in order to purchase something, you need to register via the Internet. Moreover, documents certifying your solvency will probably be required. Therefore, if you are not yet ready to buy, then you should just come and watch the auction take place. There is definitely grace, excitement and drama in this performance.

This time the auction was very successful, almost everything was sold out.

For clarity, I will give several examples of lots auctioned at Christie's on April 15, 2013.

The central and most expensive lot was a pink presentation porcelain vase from 1908, with the initials of Emperor Nicholas and Empress Alexandra, decorated with silver griffin-shaped handles by Faberge, from a New York private collection, made for an important gift, but remaining in the storage room of Nicholas's office II. It was later acquired by American India Early Minshull. Since then, the vase has been sold at auction several times, and its sale price has increased each time.

It sold for $483,750 with an estimated maximum price of $250,000.

A folder with letters and telegrams from Grand Dukes Maria Alexandrovna and Alexander Alexandrovich, including letters to Countess Tolstoy, was sold for $43,750, and several folders with similar letters never found a buyer and were withdrawn from auction.

The phaleristic section of the Golden Order of St. aroused great interest at the auction. Anna, II degree went for $6,000, St.. Vladimir, II degree for $4 500.

A GOLD AND ENAMEL ORDER OF ST. ANNE SECOND CLASS, WITH SWORDS
MARK OF ALBERT KEIBEL WITH THE IMPERIAL WARRANT, ST. PETERSBURG, 1899-1908

Golden Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, 1st degree.
It was sold for $291,750, and the order chain for it was sold for $315,750.

Icon of the Kazan Mother of God in a gilded silver frame, embroidered with pearls, 1880.
Was sold for $40,000.

The next day, April 16, auctions of Russian art and European silver of the 19th and early 20th centuries took place at the auction Sotheby's (Sotheby ’ s) , which is located in Upper Manhattan on York Avenue and 71 street .

The principle of sales here is the same, but the size and scope of this auction house in New York is much greater. 400 lots were put up for sale. The exhibition was located in several large halls, and it took a couple of hours to thoroughly examine it.

Simultaneously with the exhibition of Russian art and European silver, in the neighboring halls, a pre-sale exhibition of jewelry called Magnificent Jewelry was held, where platinum and gold jewelry with unique precious stones were put up for auction. Among them was a rather interesting lot No. 387 - Exceptional Pearl-Shaped Diamond, a teardrop-shaped diamond measuring 74.79 carats, estimated price $9,000,000 - $12,000,000, was sold on April 17 for $14,165,000.

Also interesting is lot No. 393 – MAGNIFICENT PAIR OF PLATINUM, FANCY PINK DIAMOND AND DIAMOND PENDANT-EARCLIPS

Platinum earrings with pink diamonds of 5.79 and 5.68 carats, complemented by drop-shaped diamonds and marquises - 19.25 carats.
Pre-sale price: 3,500,000 – 4,500,000, the earrings did not find their buyer and were withdrawn from auction.

It is interesting that at the auction of Russian art, Sotheby’s auction on April 16, 2013, sales prices were much closer to those previously established by experts than at the Christie’s auction on April 15.

Eugene Lanceray (1884-1886). Sculptural bronze group “Arab horse game.”
Sold for $173,000, with a preliminary price of $140,000-$160,000.

Silver samovar Alexander Kordey, 1869
Sold for $75,000(preliminary estimate $20,000 – $30,000)

Coronation album in 2 volumes, in a leather cover, with black and white photographs and color illustrations of the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II. 1899 Sold for $21,250(preliminary estimate $7,000 – $10,000)

Punch set, silver inlaid with enamel. Ovchinnikov. 1899-1908. Sold for $161,000(preliminary price $80,000-$120,000)

The most significant and expensive lot: a tabletop portrait of Emperor Nicholas II, framed with diamonds, with a diamond imperial crown, and four monograms. Master Heinrich Wigstrom, artist Vasily Zuev, 1909

Such portraits were among the rarest imperial gifts and were intended only for important and significant people. Under Nicholas II, only nine Russians and nine foreigners were awarded such precious portraits.
Sold for $413,000(preliminary price $200,000-$400,000)

Total sales that day amounted to 5,673,692 USD

It is known that all over the world many galleries, salons, shops and shops sell antiques. But it is auctions that make this market global, that is, interconnected. Thanks to their catalogs, a common database of information about antiques is formed, which allows you to monitor the main price trends and, to some extent, protects the market from counterfeits.

Quite often, owners of outstanding antique or artistic rarities, deciding to sell them, resort to the services of an auction, which serves as a certain guarantee for them of the integrity of the transaction and gives them the opportunity to earn good money. Therefore, high-profile and significant events in the field of sales of antiques take place at auctions at leading auction houses. Thanks to auctions, such lots receive wide publicity, and it is based on the results of their sales that an elite fashion for art objects is formed.

So keeping track of events happening at auctions is interesting and useful, even if you are not planning to become a serious collector.

And, even if my story about New York auction houses did not convince the average citizen of the world of the advisability of investing in antiques, I hope it showed that visiting these places is an exciting and educational leisure activity, good food for thought, combined with undeniable aesthetic pleasure.

Text by Tatyana Borodina

Any reprint of text or use of copyright photographs is possible only with the permission of the author of the project.

Founded back in 1766 by James Christie, Christie's held the largest auctions of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Today, Christie's remains a popular showcase for everything unique and beautiful. Christie's auctions annually offer more than 450 pieces of art from 80 categories. This includes all areas of fine and decorative arts, jewelry, photography, collectibles, wine and more. Prices range from $200 to $80 million.

Christie's Auctions operates from 53 offices in 32 countries and 10 salesrooms around the world. These include: London, New York, Paris, Geneva, Milan, Amsterdam, Dubai and Hong Kong. Christie's also provides international access to its sales through Christie's Auctions LIVE™ to its customers. This unique service offers online shopping in real time.

History of Christie's Auctions

1766

On December 5th, James Christie holds a sale from his Great Rooms in Pall Mall. This was the first permanent place for auctions at that time. Items for sale consisted of: 2 chamber pots, a pair of sheets, 2 pillowcases and 4 irons.

1778

James Christie is appraising Sir Robert Walpole's collection of paintings on behalf of his grandson George Walpole, 3rd Earl and negotiating their sale from Houghton for £40,000 with Empress Catherine the Great of Russia.

1795

Sir Joshua Reynolds' studio is on sale within five days for £25,000. Following the execution in 1793 of Madame du Barry, the favorite of Louis XVI, her jewels were sold by James Christie for £8,791 4s 9d.

1797

Hogarth's painting Mariage a` la Mode sells for 1,000 guineas (£1,050). A series of these satirical paintings hangs in the National Gallery in London.

1803

Since the death of his father, James Christie has taken over the entire business.

1823

Christie's is moving to new premises at 8 Royal St James's Street, where the auction's real London headquarters will appear.

1831

After the death of James Christie, William Manson joins the firm and calls it Christie & Manson.

1848

Collection of the Duke of Buckingham, Stowe House sale within 40 days for £75,562.

1859

Christie's auction under the name Manson & Woods is formed when Thomas Woods becomes its director. Woods was the son of a Stowe gamekeeper and his interest in paintings became an obvious partner of Christie's when the house was sold.

1876

Gainsborough's portrait of the Duchess of Devonshire becomes the first work of art to sell for 10,000 guineas (£10,500).

1882

Sale of Hamilton Palace. A remarkable collection of paintings formed by the 10th Duke of Hamilton. Scattered sale lasting 17 days. In total, revenue was £392,562. Eleven of the paintings are bought by the newly created National Gallery in London.

1892

Christie's auction is selling its first impressionist painting Absinthe by Edgar Degas for £189. The painting still hangs in the Louvre today.

1919

The last sale in this series, consisting of seven Red Cross gifts, occurred in 1915, bringing in a total income of almost £420,000. (The Red Cross's largest sales occurred after World War II).

1926

Romney's portrait of Mrs. Davenport became the most expensive work of art sold between the two world wars. The portrait sold for £60,900 and now hangs in the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

1941

Christie's Auction premises suffer from blitz attacks. The firm moved to Derby House, off Oxford Street, and then to Spencer House in St James's. And finally returns to the newly rebuilt building on King Street in 1953.

1958

Christie's opens its first overseas office with a representative in Rome.

1965

Rembrandt's portrait of Titus is selling for 760,000 guineas (£798,000).

1968

Christie's opens its first overseas salesroom in Geneva, where it holds international jewelry auctions.

1969

Christie's auction opens an office in Paris.
Christie's holds its first sale in Asia, in Tokyo.

1970

Velazquez's portrait of Juan de Pareja receives £2,300,000, the first work of art to sell for more than £1,000,000. The painting is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

1973

Christie's becomes a public company listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Christie's Auction offices are open in Amsterdam and Tokyo.

1975

Christie's South Kensington Auctions founded. The pear-shaped Star of South Africa diamond is on sale in Geneva for CHF 1,600,000

1977

Christie's opens a hall on Park Avenue in New York. From the very first series of sales, the profit is 5,000,000 pounds sterling.

1980

Ford Collection of Impressionist paintings sold in New York for 18,400,000 US dollars. The Codex Leicester, a collection of notes and drawings on cosmology and water compiled by Leonardo da Vinci around 1508, sold in New York for US$2,200,000.

1984

Drawings by Raphael from the famous collection of the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth fetch £20,000,000. The sale includes Raphael's exquisite Hand of an Apostle Study for the Head, which sells for £3,500,000.

1985

Mantegna's masterpiece, The Adoration of the Magi, will become the most expensive painting by the artist ever sold at that time - $8,100,000. The painting now hangs in the Getty Museum in Malibu.

1986

With his painting La Rue Monsieur aux Paveurs, Manet becomes the most expensive Impressionist artist to work in this technique, selling for £7,700,000 at Christie's.

Nanjing Cargo of Chinese porcelain and gold bars salvaged from East Holland Indiaman sold in Amsterdam for a total of £10,200,000. This is the first sale in the "shipwreck sales" category.

1987

A stellar year for Christie's Auctions. Van Gogh's Sunflowers sell for £24,750,000, while Van Gogh's second work, Le Pont de Trinquetaille, sells for £12,650,000. Other big-ticket sales - A Gutenberg Bible sold for £3,300,000. A flawless 64.83 carat D grade diamond, £3,900,000. A 1931 Bugatti Royale passenger car was also sold for £5,500,000.

1988

Portrait of Van Gogh by Adeline Ravoux is sold for 13,750,000 US dollars in New York at Christie's Auctions. Acrobat and Young Harlequin (Acrobate et Jeune Harlequin) by Picasso - sold for £20,900,000 in London at Christie's Auctions.

1989

Pontormo's Portrait of Duke Cosimo de' Medici (Duke Cosimo I de' Medici) will become the most expensive painting by the Old Master ever sold for 35,200,000 US dollars (at that time). The portrait now hangs in the Getty Museum in Malibu.

Christie's auction is expanding in the Far East and a joint venture is being formed. Auction Christie's Swire Limited in Hong Kong (Swire (Hong Kong) Limited.).

A new showroom has opened in Melbourne, Australia.

1990

Van Gogh's Portrait of Dr. Gachet becomes the most expensive work of art ever sold during that period of time. The sale amounted to £49,100,000 at Christie's New York.

The Badminton Cabinet sold for £8,580,000 or US$15,100,000, setting a record for the sale of furniture and interior items as a work of art.

1991

Titian's Venus and Adonis sold for £7,500,000.

1992

Michelangelo's Rest on the Flight to Egypt was sold at Christie's in London for £4,200,000, a record price for a master at Christie's.

A superb Assyrian bas-relief from the Palace of Ashurnasirpal II of Nimrud, dating from the 9th century BC, discovered in a boys' school in Dorset. The bas-relief set a world record for the sale of an antique at Christie's, and was purchased for £7,700,000.

The first jewelry sales in Hong Kong brought Christie's $2,700,000. The Mdivani necklace sells for HK$33,000,000. A new world price record has been set for jewelry, as well as other works of art, sold in Asia.

1994

On December 8, the sale of works of art from Houghton Hall, the home of the Marchioness of Cholmondeley, brings in a windfall profit of £24,000,000.

1995

Jewels from the personal collection of Princess Salima Aga Khan sold in Geneva for £27,700,000. Christie's acquires a subsidiary in the United States called Christie's Great Estates.

The collection of the late Rudolf Nureyev was scattered across various auctions in London and New York. Christie's Auctions realizes sales totaling over $10,000,000. They received £12,000 for just one pair of ballet slippers.

1996

For the first time since 1882, a painting by a living artist became the most expensive work and sold within a year. The painting Woman by William de Kooning was bought in New York for 15,600,000 US dollars.
Raphael's exquisite drawing, Study of the Head and Hand of an Apostle, which was the main selling point of the Chatsworth artist's originals in 1984, appears at auction again. This time, it sells for £5,300,000, setting a new record for the artist.

1997

Sales of the collections of two artists (impressionist and contemporary art) John and Frances L. Loeb in New York, receive a stellar 93 million US dollars.

In New York, Victor and Sally Ganz make a huge sales story at Christie's, totaling US$206,500,000 (£122,200,000). This is the highest single owner sale price at auction.

At a charity gala auction in New York, 79 Dresses from the collection of Diana, Princess of Wales are being sold for a staggering $3,258,750 (£1,960,150). Christie's donated proceeds to the Royal Marsden Hospital Cancer and AIDS Foundation.

1998

The sale of Vincent van Gogh's self-portrait, Portrait de l'artiste sans barbe, for US$71,500,000 (£42,800,000), joins the list of the most expensive works of art sold at auction all year.

Artemis SA acquires Auction Christie's International PLC.

year 2000

In April, Christie's new American headquarters opened in Rockefeller Plaza in New York City.

The Barons Nathaniel and Albert von Rothschild collection was sold in July at Christie's in London for $57,700,000. Highest price for just one sale by one owner in Europe. This destroyed the previous 27 world records, including nine from Old Artists in the “one holder” category.

Marilyn Monroe's personal property is going under the hammer. The Christie's Rockefeller Plaza Auction reopened in America with sales of more than $13,400,000 (£8,100,000). The standout lot was Marilyn Monroe's "Happy Birthday" dress. Marilyn wore it on May 19, 1962, to sing for President John F. Kennedy. The dress was sold for a little more than 1,200,000 US dollars. Another world record in the sale of women's clothing. The lot also ranked third among the highest prices for goods from celebrities.

year 2001

Michelangelo's drawing - Study for the Risen Christ, formerly part of the collection of Sir Brinsley Ford, was sold in London for 8,100,000 US dollars. Picasso's painting "Femme aux bras Croix" sold for US$55,000,000 in New York. The painting takes first place as the most expensive work of the artist and fifth place among other works of art.

In Paris, on 9th Avenue Matignon, Christie's Auction opens in a modern new premises. The first sale took place on December 5th, exactly 235 years after James Christie's first sale. Leonardo da Vinci's Horse and Rider is being sold in London, ranking high among Old Artists for £8,100,000.

A highly important classical Roman marble statue of the Jenkins Venus, a Medici type, is selling for US$11,600,000 (£7,900,000), setting a world record price for an antiquity art object sold at auction.

2002

A world record for Indian jewelry occurred at Christie's in September when a Mughal emerald wine cup, from the Jahangir period (1605-1627 BC), sold for £1,797,250 ($2,963,665 US) ).

2004

A Badminton cabinet sold in December for £19,045,250 ($36,662,106) in London, updating its own record. And it becomes the most expensive piece of decorative art ever sold at Christie's.

2005 year

A representative office of Christie's Auctions opens in Dubai, and the stages of an innovative public exhibition are expanded.

2006

April: Giudecca, La Donna della Salute and San Giorgio from J. M. W. Turner receives a remarkable US$35,656,000 and sets a new world auction record for British paintings.

The first sales of International Contemporary Art and Contemporary Art Productions are taking place in Dubai on May 24 at the Emirates Tower Hotel.
The sale of the collections of HRH Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon raises £13,658,728. The collection creates unprecedented interest and exceeds all pre-sale expectations by 100 percent.

Launch of Christie's LIVE™, signaling a new era in the industry. It offers the possibility of remote betting from the comfort of your home. The program offers real-time video and audio with clear bidding instructions so users can virtually attend auctions on Christie's sales floors around the world.

The most valuable sales in auction history at the time. New York, Christie's Auctions, November sales of Impressionist and modern art amounted to 491,472,000 US dollars, Four Klimt paintings sold, returned to the heirs of Adele and Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer - one of the Most hotly anticipated events in the history of art, the amount was 192,704,000 American dollar.

December: David Linley appointed chairman of Christie Auctions UK.

2007

Christie's International has announced the acquisition of the new Haunch of Venison gallery. It is a renowned contemporary art gallery with exhibition spaces in London, New York and Berlin. A very timely initiative to enter the mainstream art market and develop its private post-war contemporary art business around the world.

In June, Christie's holds a week of impressionist and modern art, a post-war and contemporary art auction in London. Sales total £237,055,980 (US$470,408,453/€349,647,337). Once again the fastest sales record was broken. In just one week, 23 new world auction records were created in Europe and 48 lots sold for more than £1,000,000.

A portrait of Lorenzo de' Medici by Raphael Santi, called Raphael (1483-1520), sold at Christie's in London for £18,500,000 (US$37,277,500/€27,343,000). Of course, the price broke the world record for sales of paintings by the artist at auction, and became a world record for Italian Old Artists.

The Rothschild Fabergé Egg, (Faberge Egg) sold at Christie's London for £8,980,500 (US$18,499,830 / €12,509,837). New world price record for Russian art (not including paintings) at auction.

In November, Christie's Auctions celebrates its 20th anniversary in Hong Kong. This event goes down in history as the biggest achievement at that time in Asia; the bar of 2,000,000,000 Hong Kong dollars was reached. Autumn figures for all types of sales reached the level of HK$2,100,000,000, including auctions of paintings, watches and jewelry. World auction records have been set in all categories for Asian auctions.

2008

The June Evening Sale of Impressionist and Contemporary Art brought in revenue of £144,440,500 ($283,970,023). The most expensive art auction held to date in Europe. The top lot was the Lily Pond (Le Bassin AUX Nympheas), a painting of Claude Monet's masterpiece that sold for £40,921,250 (US$80,451,178/€51,683,539). For the artist, this was a price record at auction and the most expensive painting by the Impressionist. For Christie's, it also became the most expensive work of art sold in Europe.

In addition, the most significant auction of English furniture of the 18th century took place in London in June. Ten masterpieces sold for £10,330,500 (US$20,154,806 / €12,995,769) and four lots went for more than £2,000,000. The sale was led by Kenure Cabinet Minister Thomas Chippendale. Its sale became the best example in the work of the auction. The antique furniture fetched a total of £27,29,250 ($53,24,767). A British furniture sale has become the most expensive in its category sold at auction.

In New York, Lucian Freud's "Benefits of Supervisor Sleeping" sold for US$33,641,000, setting a world auction sale record for any living artist.

The 17th century Wittelsbach diamond, a cushion-shaped dark greyish blue, grade VS2, weighing 35.56 carats, sold for £16,393,250 ($24,311,190), setting a price record for all diamonds and gemstones sold at auction.

year 2009

Three-day sale of the magnificent collection of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berger at the Grand Palace. Christie's proposed collaboration with Pierre Berge & Associates brought in €342,500,000 (£304,900,000/$443,100,000) - setting a record for the most valuable private collection sold at auction in Europe.

Christie's launches the iPhone "app", a mobile app that expands the company's online experience to a global audience of Apple and mobile device users.

A vibrant pink diamond sold in Hong Kong in December for HK$83,500,000. ($10,800,000 US) - a new record price per carat for gemstones sold at auction ($2,100,000 per carat).

Evening auction of 19th century Old Artists art in December in London. Sales totaled £68,400,000 ($112,400,000), an overall record for an Old Artist at auction. Raphael's supporting drawing of the Head of the Muse, used for a fresco in the Vatican, sold for £29,200,000 (US$47,900,000). This was the second highest price paid for the Old Artist. First place belongs to the painting Portrait of a Man by Rembrandt, it was bought for 20,200,000 pounds sterling (33,200,000 US dollars), a world record price for the artist at auction.

2010

Pablo Picasso's Nude, Green Leaves and Bust from the collection of Mrs. Sidney F. Brodie sold for a record $106,482,500 (£70,278,450). World record sale for the most expensive work of art sold at auction. Brody's collection reached US$224,177,500 (£147,957,150). The collection became the most expensive in general statistics from one owner, put up for sale at Christie's Auction in New York, the sale was carried out by 100 percent lottery.

Also in May, the Michael Crichton Collection, in the contemporary art category, became the most significant collection in its field, and was purchased for US$103,330,913. The Jasper Johns flag broke the artist's world sales record, reaching $28,642,500.

In Paris in June, Amedeo Modigliani's Tête broke the record for the highest price achieved for a work of art. The sale took place at auction in France for 43,185,000 euros (35,886,735 pounds sterling / 52,620,923 US dollars). During this period, the world price record in the category of works of art by Modigliani was once again broken.

In June, at an evening auction in London, paintings worth £152,595,550 (US$226,451,796) were sold in the Impressionist and Modernist categories. Overall auction record originating in the United Kingdom and the most valuable miscellaneous owner art in European history. Market.

Christie's is opening additional facilities in Asia, including an auction room and an exhibition room. The premises occupy 29,000 square meters in the center of Hong Kong.

2011

In Paris, Christie's auction offers the Château de Gourdon collection. A three-day sale of early 20th century decorative art and design is selling for US$59,300,000.

Jewelry collection from Elizabeth Taylor. It included fine art, fashion, decorative arts and memorabilia, and sold for US$183,500,000. A new record has been set for the most valuable piece of jewelry by a single owner. Prior to this, the most expensive collection at auction was sold for 144,000,000 US dollars.

Vincent van Gogh. "A plowed field and a plowman." 1889. Photo: Christie's

Doubts that Christie’s auction house’s turnover in 2017 would be the largest were dispelled already in November, when Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “Salvator Mundi” was auctioned in New York for $450.3 million. These 20-minute auctions went down in the history of the world art market; almost half a million people watched the live broadcast of the sale of “Savior of the World.” And the work will probably now for years top the list of the world’s most expensive works of art sold at auction (buyers usually prefer to make such grand transactions in private).

The total turnover of the house amounted to $6.6 billion, which is 21% higher than the results of 2016. Moreover, growth is observed in all positions (that is, Christie’s would have been in the lead even without Leonardo). The share of buyers from Asia has grown significantly; they now make about a third of all purchases, and about half of what they buy is art from the Asian region. But New York traditionally remains the main site. Here they sold for $262.8 million, “The Sleeping Muse” by Constantin Brancusi for a record for the master $57.4 million, a painting by Vincent van Gogh for $81 million. Clients from the USA accounted for 32% of all acquisitions. However, the British and French branches of the auction house also did not disappoint - growth is observed everywhere. For example, a selection of works from the collection of Hubert de Givenchy, put up for sale in Paris in March, was 100% sold.

Constantin Brancusi. "Sleeping Muse" Photo: Christie's

Even the section of Russian art began to grow: the autumn auction in London was successful. “For the Russian representative office of Christie’s, 2017 was a very busy year,” says Dirk Boll, President of Christie’s EMERI. — We held seven exhibitions in the Moscow office, as well as a number of joint projects, including with. In 2018, the Moscow office of Christie’s, the oldest auction office in the Russian capital, will celebrate its 25th anniversary. This event will be marked accordingly."

In general, the global art market is on the rise again. The Sotheby’s auction house also reported that the auction brought it $4.7 billion, 13.1% more than last year’s total. This year the competition promises to be intense: a second Leonardo from Christie’s is unlikely to turn up, and Sotheby’s continues to arm itself. In addition to Art Agency, Partners, a consulting company (whose experts seem to know every art buyer in the world personally) and , which allows you to calculate the value of purchasing individual works and artists, Sotheby's just bought a New York startup called Thread Genius, which uses image recognition technology. The Thread Genius algorithm identifies a stream of images of works of art and selects from it what may suit the taste and budget of a particular buyer.