Sotheby's

Sotheby’s have been holding auctions since 1744.  Founded in London, where they moved into salerooms on Bond Street in 1917, Sotheby’s expanded to New York in 1955 and now have salerooms and offices around the world.

Sotheby’s offer specialist sales in over 70 different categories though four major salerooms, six smaller ones and through their online bidding platform BIDnow.


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New high for Olympic torch as Budd sets £420,000 house record

09 June 2015

Sports specialist Graham Budd struck gold in his latest sale by setting an Olympic torch auction record.

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Liebermann restituted from Gurlitt cache comes to auction

04 June 2015

Max Liebermann’s ‘Zwei Reiter am Strand nach links’ (Two Riders on a Beach) has become the first painting to be sold from Cornelius Gurlitt’s hoard of art.

Bernheimer sale signals new direction for Munich dealership

28 May 2015

Sotheby’s will hold a sale of the Bernheimer family collection in November and Konrad Bernheimer has announced the family’s Munich art dealership will move from its traditional Old Master specialism to concentrate on Modern and Contemporary art under the direction of his daughters.

Tad Smith gives clues on Sotheby’s future

26 May 2015

Sotheby’s latest set of results give the first indication of how Tad Smith will direct the company.

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New record for Danish art at auction

22 May 2015

This interior scene by Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864-1916) set an artist’s record when it was knocked down at £1.7m at Sotheby’s in London.

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Pointing to a new pricing territory at flagship auction fortnight in New York

18 May 2015

The latest Modern and Contemporary art auctions in New York took the market to new heights with $2.73bn (£1.84bn) changing hands over two weeks of flagship sales.

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Dealers Eskenazi secure Tang ewer at Sotheby’s

18 May 2015

This exceptionally rare Sancai ‘phoenix-head’ ewer from the early Tang dynasty was among the highlights of the week-long Asian art series of sales held in London.

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Rothko heads Sotheby’s contemporary art sale in New York

13 May 2015

Mark Rothko’s 'Untitled (Yellow and Blue)' led Sotheby’s sale of Contemporary art in New York last night.

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Sweet scent for best of 18th century France

02 May 2015

Briefly owned by Louis XVI, who intended them for the Louvre, this 13in (33.5cm) high pair of fine gilt-bronze-mounted kakiemon porcelain and Egyptian porphyry brûle parfums sold for £1.65m at Sotheby’s in London this week.

Sotheby’s former owner Alfred Taubman dies aged 91

20 April 2015

Former owner of Sotheby’s A. Alfred Taubman – and central figure in the auction price-fixing scandal – has died aged 91.

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Sotheby’s to auction Castle Howard contents

13 April 2015

A stellar consignment of paintings and antiques from Castle Howard will be offered at Sotheby’s this summer.

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Your starter for £2.2m…

07 April 2015

Over 700 lots from West Horsley Place in Surrey, the home of the late Mary Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe, are going under the hammer at Sotheby’s in May.

Sotheby’s start their new eBay experiment

26 March 2015

Sotheby’s have begun live streaming their sales on eBay’s new auctions platform.

What the great role swap at the top means for Sotheby’s and Christie’s

24 March 2015

COMMENT: One is a marketing expert from outside the industry with a background in the media, luxury and entertainment sectors, the other is a career auction house professional with decades of service at the same company under his belt.

Sotheby's name Tad Smith as new president and CEO

16 March 2015

Sotheby’s have appointed Tad Smith, aged 49, as president and chief executive officer, effective March 31, 2015.

Sotheby’s seek new growth in middle market

09 March 2015

Sotheby’s year-end results for 2014 signal a refocus of activity to encompass much more of the middle market than in recent years.

RM deal puts Sotheby’s head to head with Bonhams in competition for the future of UK car market

27 February 2015

Sotheby’s have taken a 25% stake in RM, the classic and luxury car auctioneer, renaming the company RM Sotheby’s.

Sotheby’s to reinstate standalone sales of Scottish art in London

19 February 2015

Sotheby’s are re-starting dedicated sales of Scottish art, beginning in November 2015.

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Sotheby’s set £27m Richter record

11 February 2015

A large abstract painting by Gerhard Richter drew dramatic bidding last night and led Sotheby’s Contemporary art evening sale when it was knocked down at £27m.

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Artcurial pass Christie’s in French auctions as Sotheby’s lead the field

03 February 2015

Strong sales of Modern and Contemporary art plus the Félix Marcilhac decorative arts collection helped propel Sotheby’s to the highest auction total in France in 2014, with sales figures of €213m.

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