Sotheby’s, the international auction house bought in 2019 by the telecommunications magnate Patrick Drahi, reported Monday that it has sold $2.5 billion of art and collectibles so far this year. The figures include more than $285 million from online-only auctions and $575 million in private sales. As a privately held company — like its rival international auction houses Christie’s, Phillips and Bonhams — Sotheby’s is under no obligation to release sales figures. According to data independently compiled by Pi-eX, a London-based art market analytics company, Sotheby’s sales from relatively low-value online-only auctions from January through July were up 540 percent this year, but live auctions of $1.6 billion were down 42 percent, resulting in an overall fall of 25 percent in auction sales. Christie’s equivalent online and live sales declined by 53 percent, according to Pi-eX.

Source: International New York Times August 03, 2020 16:41 UTC