Auction houses
Two shareholders seek to block Sotheby’s purchase by BidFair
Lawsuits argue that information filed to the SEC is inadequate
Phillips names Olivia Thornton head of 20th-century and contemporary art in Europe
The appointment comes after a handful of new hires across the auction house’s offices
Our 17th-century female artists faced a double injustice
New exhibition on Joan Carlile, Mary Beale and Anne Killigrew opens in London this week
Mini Impressionist and Modern sale at Sotheby's makes £99m thanks to auction debutantes
Monet's waterlilies and Modigliani's portrait of an unknown boy lead the 25-lot sale, and new record made for Austrian artist Alfred Kubin's haunting drawing
Tough going for Christie's skinny £36.4m Impressionist and Modern art sale
Early Schiele drawing is the low-key star of an unremarkable sale, topped by a flashy Picasso
Sotheby's goes private as it is sold for $3.7bn
French-Israeli media billionaire Patrick Drahi's company BidFair USA buys firm from shareholders
Swann Auction Galleries joins in Stonewall celebrations with its first Pride sale
Salesroom hopes that capitalising on the trend for curated auctions will help to generate a renaissance in an underserved market
Object lessons: from Salvador Dalí greetings cards to a long-hidden Kandinsky painting
Our pick of highlights for sale over the next fortnight
More grief for Aristophil investors as French government seizes hundreds of documents
Around 18,000 people invested in the now bankrupted company's manuscripts collection, but state says many items of historical importance should never have been sold
Sotheby’s to hold the first major Aboriginal art sale in the US in November
The auction house cites increasing interest in Aboriginal art among US collectors and institutions
Lost art: the great Caravaggio whodunnit
Ahead of the painting's sale, the art historian Noah Charney asks whether the pricey work is a true lost treasure or one of scores made by Caravaggisti
Sotheby’s reports loss of $7.1m in first quarter of 2019
Lack of supply dogs London and Hong Kong and guarantees are down over 50% as former chief operating officer Adam Chinn apparently joins the Mugrabi dealing family
VR market realities tested at Frieze New York
This edition of the fair has a special section of virtual reality and augmented reality works
Going, going, gone online: Europe's auction houses go digital
Online-only auctions may focus on the lower end of the market, but they are key to expanding clientele. We survey ten auction houses to find out their strategy
Gerhard Richter’s jet fighter painting finally takes off at Phillips after bumpy legal battle
After previous buyer defaulted on paying for the work in 2016, painting sold in London for £15.5m in a significantly smaller auction compared with 2018
Sotheby's puts female artists first in contemporary sale, but men still end up on top
Jenny Saville's Juncture sells for £5.4m and records set for Rebecca Warren and Nigerian artist Toyin Ojih Odutola, but Jean-Michel Basquiat still leads prices
Sotheby's sales up 16% in 2018 thanks to $1bn private sales boost
Auction house reports $6.4bn in total sales last year, while chief executive Tad Smith says guarantees are not "at a particularly high level"
The good, the pricey and the Surreal: Monet flops while Signac glows at Christie's sale
Impressionist, Modern and Surrealist art auction makes second highest total for Christie's London at £165.4m, but much of overpriced collection goes unsold
Faking Hitler: the story behind a sinister market
Despite the failure of five of the dictator-to-be’s watercolours to sell at auction last month, a market for his works—both real and forged—remains
'Lifers no more: can auction houses keep their talent up?'
A slew of recent high-profile departures begs the question—are top auction house executives burning out?
Shifts among the major auction houses could spell serious change
Loic Gouzer to leave Christie’s as the auction house restructures in the wake of Francis Outred's departure, while Phillips upgrades its New York headquarters
We must not let the art market hoodwink us in the AI debate
The AI work that was sold at Christie's is profound in its conservatism, but others reflect how the technology can impact on art in fascinating ways
Object Lessons: London Old Master week
Tis the season for Old Masters: here are three works to seek out, from a mythological marriage portrait to Annibale Carracci's sketch on an old account book
Why the Christie's and Sotheby's duopoly is impregnable
The auction houses sell more than 80% of works priced over $1m at auction—can an underdog ever wrestle market share away from them?
Sotheby’s Germany chief Philipp von Württemberg resigns
Heinrich von Spreti will serve as interim managing director until a replacement is found
Phillips and Bonhams see strong sales on smaller lots
The auction houses' bottom lines suffered from unsold lots, continuing a trend of top-lot discernment during New York’s fall sales
Hockney sets new auction record for a living artist, but were strings pulled behind the no-reserve sale?
The Yorkshireman's 1970s Californian scene, Portrait of an Artist, sold on the nose at $80m at Christie's in New York last night
Common mistakes of rookie auction guarantors
Guarantees can be lucrative, but in the face of savvy competition, novices can get burnt when backing works as a third-party
Ambitious estimates hamper Christie's $279.2m Impressionist and Modern art sale as Van Gogh goes unsold but Monet is on the money
New York auction topped by Monet's Le bassin aux nymphaés, sold to an Asian buyer at $31.8m
Holy grail of folk ceramics made by 19th-century snake handler breaks auction record
The “snake jug” shattered the previous record for Anna Pottery, a niche favourite of Americana collectors