The best auction houses
The best auction houses Racing to capture works by ‘star’ artists… the quest for global market coverage… permanent strategic adaptation… these are some of the keys to the success of the top three auction companies: Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips. The leading trio… New York, London and Hong Kong are the primary marketplaces for the top three auction operators in Contemporary Art. This strategic positioning ensures their domination over all of their competitors and allows them to satisfy American, European and Asian demand simultaneously. Together, Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips account for 70% of the Contemporary Art market by turnover, from just 10% of the lots sold. At a global level, they don’t sell much… but what they do sell fetches high prices. They hammered 85 of the top 100 auction results in 2018/2019. Market shares of the top three auction companies: Sotheby’s: 32.9% Christie’s: 25.4% Phillips: 11.9% This year again, Sotheby’s came out top for sales of Contemporary