Sotheby's

Oliver Barker is to take over responsibility for evening Contemporary art sales for Sotheby’s in New York and London following the departure of Tobias Meyer.

‘The Pink Star’ – a 59.60-carat oval cut pink diamond – sold for $83m (£55m) at Sotheby’s Geneva on November 13, an auction record for any gemstone or jewel.

From November 28 to December 1 Sotheby’s will hold the series of private and public sales they have dubbed ‘Beijing Art Week’. It is the largest event Sotheby’s have held in China.

An auction record was set at Christie’s last week when Sir Stanley Spencer's (1891-1959) 'Christ Preaching at Cookham Regatta: Conversation Between Punts' sold at £5.3m.

Driving value for shareholders is at the heart of Sotheby’s business review and ongoing strategy, as third-quarter results show a big rise in private treaty sales and a long-awaited boost from their online offer.

The large volumes of money being spent in the Contemporary art market continued at Sotheby’s last night as the auctioneers posted their highest ever total for a single sale.

Sotheby’s are to close Noortman Master Paintings, the London-based international art dealership, by December 31.

Sotheby’s have appointed Fru Tholstrup as director of their new London S|2 gallery, to oversee the running and strategy behind this new purpose-built space for private selling exhibitions of Contemporary Art in Mayfair.

Sotheby’s crowned their five-day HK$4.2bn (£354.5m) sales series in Hong Kong this month with a record price for a white diamond.

Sotheby’s board of directors have moved to counter increasing pressure for change from investor Daniel Loeb by issuing shareholders with new rights to acquire company stock.

Daniel Loeb, whose Third Point hedge fund has acquired almost 10% of Sotheby’s stock, has called for the auction house’s chief executive and chairman, Bill Ruprecht, to step down.

As London works of art dealer Danny Katz moves to new premises off Berkeley Square, Sotheby’s are to sell works from his Bond Street gallery.

Sotheby’s have announced that they are to offer a flawless 59.6-carat pink diamond for sale in Geneva on November 13 with a record asking price of $60m.

Sotheby’s have announced that William S. Sheridan, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, is leaving the company after 17 years.

Over 120 players took to the football pitch on Saturday, September 7, for the annual antique and fine art industry five-a-side tournament. The event raised £16,000 for The Haven Breast Cancer Support Centres, the best ever total in its 11-year history.

Sotheby’s have announced that they are reviewing their financial strategy in a bid to create the optimum balance between future investment in the company and shareholder return.

Three pieces of Victorian art from the Leverhulme collection will be offered at Sotheby’s in London later this year with a combined estimate of £9m-14m.

The competition for private sales among the leading auction rooms will step up during the coming weeks as both Sotheby’s and Christie’s hold exhibitions at their new private galleries in London.

Speculation over the future of Sotheby’s has been rife since Wall Street hedge fund billionaire Daniel Loeb’s firm Third Point announced it had acquired a 5.7% stake in the firm.

Global sales for the first half of 2013 at Sotheby’s totalled $3.14bn (£2.05bn), their latest set of results reveal.