Sotheby’s

One of the most venerable auctioneers in the world, Sotheby’s, along with fellow market bellwether Christie’s, sets benchmark valuations for art through public sales that chart the financial health of the art world. The most closely watched of these are the sales of modern and contemporary art held twice a year at Sotheby’s major locations in New York (November and May), London (October and June), and Hong Kong (April and October). Other contemporary art auctions are mounted in Paris, Milan, and Doha.

Founded in 1744 in London by bookseller Samuel Baker, Sotheby’s has grown into a multinational corporation with 80 locations in 40 countries, offering sales not only in modern and contemporary art but also in Old Master works, Impressionism, and art from Asia and Africa. Additionally, Sotheby’s holds auctions in decorative art, jewelry, and collectibles running the gamut from baseball cards, rock-star ephemera, and Hollywood memorabilia to antiquities from Rome and Egypt. Sotheby’s also deals in rare vintage wine and spirits, along with luxury real estate and automobiles through its subsidiaries Sotheby’s International Realty and RM Sotheby’s, respectively.

Sotheby’s runs a school, the Sotheby’s Institute of Art, with courses taught at campuses in London and New York City as well as online. The institute awards master’s degrees in art business, contemporary art, fine and decorative art, East Asian art, and contemporary design, as well as certifications in art appraisal and provenance. Sotheby’s Scientific Research Department is the only one of its kind in the auction world, with experts employing the latest investigative techniques to determine the provenance techniques to determine the provenance of objects.

Starting out as a humble purveyor of antiquarian volumes during the 18th century, Sotheby’s is now a worldwide behemoth generating billions of dollars in revenue within a key sector of the global economy.