Sotheby's
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sotheby's (NYSE: BID) is the world's oldest international auction house in continuous operation. It 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.
Today, the firm has an annual turnover of approximately US$2bn, and offices on London's New Bond Street and Manhattan's York Avenue. This dominant 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 smart management during the cyclical "art recessions" of the past century.
The company was purchased in 1983 by US millionaire A. Alfred Taubman, who took it public in 1998.
Sotheby's has an intense rivalry with Christie's for the position of the world's preeminent fine art auctioneer.
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[edit] Auctioned Artwork
On May 3, 2006, Sotheby's auctioned Picasso's portrait Dora Maar with Cat which was sold for $95 million, becoming the second most expensive artwork sold at an auction. However, on June 18, 2006, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I by Gustav Klimt was sold in a private sale for $135 million, the highest price ever paid for a painting, thus reducing Dora Maar with Cat to third place.
The previous first place holder for the most expensive auctioned artwork was also held by a Picasso and was auctioned by this same auction house in 2004 for a price of $104 million. Adjusted for inflation, the Picassos take fourth and fifth place, with a Renoir sold at Sotheby's in third and a Van Gogh sold at Christie's in second.
[edit] Scandal
In February 2000, Alfred Taubman and Diana Brooks, the CEO of the company, stepped down amidst a scandal. The Federal Bureau of Investigation had been investigating auction practices in which it was revealed that collusion involving commission fixing between Christie's and Sotheby's was occurring.
In October 2000, Brooks admitted her guilt in hopes of receiving a reduced sentence, implicating Taubman.
In December 2001, jurors in a high profile New York City courtroom found Taubman guilty of conspiracy. He served one year and one day in prison, while Brooks received a three-month home confinement and a penalty of $350,000.
[edit] Trivia
The Sotheby's name derives from Samuel Baker's nephew, John Sotheby, who inherited half the firm upon Baker's death.
Sotheby's was the first international art auction house to hold auctions on the Internet.
At the end of the film Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, one of the friends can be seen reading a auction catalogue by auctioneer called Botherby's, a name play of the company.
In the Family Guy episode Blind Ambition, Cleveland Brown is said to have been an accomplished Sotheby's auctioneer.
[edit] See also
[edit] Further reading
- Christopher Mason, The Art of the Steal, 2004. Putnam. ISBN 0-399-15093-5
