Sotheby's 苏富比
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Sotheby's is the world's third oldest auction house in continuous operation. (The first is Stockholms Auktionsverk, founded in 1674, and the second is Uppsala Auktionskammare, founded in 1731). Sotheby's deals mainly in fine art, antiques and collectibles, and holds hundreds of sales each year at its auction centers around the world. The organization maintains an historic rivalry with Christie's auction house of London. Despite financial difficulties, and falling prey to the temptation of illegal price-fixing with Christie's in the late 1990s, Sotheby's is globally respected as a leading facilitator for the buying and selling of significant items of high value.[1]
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[edit] History
Sotheby's predecessor, Baker's, was founded in London, England, on 11 March 1744 when Samuel Baker presided over the disposal of "several hundred scarce and valuable" books from the library of a certain Rt. Hon. Sir John Stanley. This disposal however was not by means of auction and the business did not seek to auction fine arts in general until much later, their first major success in this field being the sale of a Frans Hals painting for 9 thousand guineas as late as 1913. The Sotheby’s art auction house, itself, dates back to 1804 when two partners at Baker’s (Leigh and Sotheby) left to set up their own book dealership.[2]
Today, the firm has an annual turnover of approximately $3 billion with offices in London's New Bond Street and Manhattan's 72nd and York. This position has been achieved through natural growth, acquisitions (most notably the 1964 purchase of the United States' largest auctioneer of fine art, Parke-Bernet), and management during the cyclical "art recessions" of the 20th century. The company was purchased in 1983 by American millionaire A. Alfred Taubman, who took it public in 1988. Sotheby's has an intense rivalry with Christie's for the position of the world's preeminent fine art auctioneer, a title of much subjectivity.[3]
[edit] Departments
Sotheby's New York completed renovations on its York Avenue headquarters in 2001 adding the unique capability to store works on the same premises as the specialist departments, galleries, and auction spaces. In addition to its nearly forty Fine Arts categories, Sotheby’s inventory has been expanded to include wine, sports memorabilia, watches, jewelry, silver, automobiles, and more.
[edit] Chinese Contemporary Department
Despite Sotheby’s long history of selling Chinese ceramics and antiquities (their first auction of Chinese Art was held in London in 1922), the auction house could not become involved in the sale of contemporary work until the Cultural Revolution came to an end.[4] In 1974, Sotheby’s became the first auction house in Hong Kong, opening an office and holding its first auction that same year. Since then, Hong Kong has become central to Sotheby's involvement with the Asian art market. In 1995, Sotheby's began staging travelling exhibitions within China, and in 2004 they held their first concentrated sale of Contemporary Chinese Art in Hong Kong, thereafter creating a standalone department renamed Contemporary Asian Art.[5]
The Contemporary Asian department-- its Chinese Art, in particular--has benefited greatly from the expertise of its founder and current director, Evelyn Lin. The numerous archetypal artworks that Ms. Lin has brought to the market include Liu Xiaodong's Battlefield Realism:The Eighteen Arhats (Set of Eighteen) (sold in April 2008), Xu Beihong's Put Down Your Whip (April 2007), Chen Chengbo's Danshui (October 2006) and Chang Yu's Pink Lotus (April 2006), all of which were world-record-breaking Chinese oil paintings.[6]
[edit] Records
[edit] General
[edit] Antiquities
On December 6, 2007, Sotheby's auctioned the Guennol Lioness, a 3 1/4-inch limestone lion from ancient Mesopotamia. It is thought to be at least 5,000 years old. It was sold for $57 million, fetching the highest price ever paid for a sculpture at auction.[7]
[edit] Contemporary Art
(Contemporary art is a designation seperate from modern art, the latter usually referencing anything made before 1950).
Sotheby's also holds the world record for most expensive piece of contemporary art ever sold at auction, with Mark Rothko's quintessential 1950 White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose), which grossed $72.8 million in May 2007 and was famously offered by David Rockefeller. It also holds the past three records for most expensive living artists: Jasper Johns became the most expensive living artist at auction in 1988, when his False Start painting sold at Sotheby's for $17 million. He held the title for quite some time, until Damien Hirst assumed the role in June 2007 when his Lullaby Spring sold for $19.2 million. This Hirst pill cabinet was bought by the royal family of Qatar, the Al-Thani family. Hirst's reign was short-lived, however, and Jeff Koons currently holds the title of most expensive living artist at auction, with his Hanging Heart work selling for $23.6 million in November 2007.[7]
[edit] Manuscripts
On December 15, 2007, Sotheby's auctioned off a very limited copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, written by J.K. Rowling. Although it was expected to make just $98,350 the book was purchased for a hammer price of $3,835,980 by London fine art dealers Hazlitt Gooden and Fox on behalf of Amazon.com.[7]
[edit] References
- ↑ http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Sotheby%27s
- ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sotheby%27s
- ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sotheby%27s
- ↑ http://www.sothebys.com/app/live/dept/DepartmentGlobal.jsp?dept_id=35
- ↑ http://www.sothebys.com/app/live/dept/DeptSpecialistProfiles.jsp?office_id=3&dept_id=188&contact_id=3243
- ↑ http://www.sothebys.com/app/live/dept/DeptSpecialistProfiles.jsp?office_id=3&dept_id=188&contact_id=3243
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sotheby%27s#Auctioned_artwork
