There is almost no way that major auction houses would
not see a significant drop in auction sales in 2020 given that traditional live auctions were suspended for a full nine months (not to mention the fact that the entire world was experiencing unprecedented upheaval).
Considering this backdrop, then, Sotheby’s and Christie’s final results for 2020 depict a fairly resilient sector although perhaps not
quite as resilient as they might like to project. Since both houses are now private companies, their true profit margins remain unknown.
For the first time in recent memory, Sotheby’s beat out Christie’s. The house announced total sales of over $5 billion (along with the caveat that it had several major auctions left before the end of the calendar year). The total represents a drop of $800 million, or 16 percent, from its combined $5.8 billion total in 2019.
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Christie’s will offer the collection of Mr. and Mrs. John H. Gutfreund in a series of sales in January, that will scatter the English and French furniture, carpets, and textiles, Chinese ceramics, and other carefully chosen pieces of decorative arts that filled the couple’s Fifth Avenue apartment.
The sales estimated to achieve between US$4.8 million and US$7.4 million for the 665 lots also include runway jewels from the House of Chanel, that Christie’s says were given to Susan Gutfreund by Karl Lagerfeld, the late designer, as well as books and bindings that filled the couple’s library.
Auctioneer Oliver Barker holding court over Sotheby s global e-auctions. Courtesy of Sotheby s.
The art trade is defined by far more than its uppermost echelon. But in an unprecedented year when virtually ever major auction went… well, virtual, top prices serve as a valuable benchmark and an indication that the world’s wealthiest did not view 2020 as a roadblock to spending big money on art.
If we’re judging by auction prices alone, though, the market was still considerably less frothy at the high end this year than in 2019. Last year, nine of the 10 priciest lots brought over $50 million each (and the 10th, a David Hockney painting, fell short by a hair). This time around, as flexible and jittery consignors alike opted to hold back their best material, only two lots exceeded $50 million.