In its 256 year history, Christies’ just had its best year yet


Whoever thinks that bidding is restricted to the old and experienced, is probably wrong. Over the past decade, several young bidders have come forth and spent massively on their favorite art pieces and memorabilia. Proof of it is Christie’s recent records. The auction house has managed to sell a cool 8.4 billion in art this year and most of it is accorded to millennial spends. According to it, the roughly 1,200 new buyers who now bid regularly in its sales were far more comfortable bidding online than older collectors but are starting at lower prices.

It further noted that they preferred photography, design, and art over the rest and also took a keen interest in new artists. The auction house also observed that the millennial mix consisted of 31% women compared to only 20% of those from its boomer clientele.

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One of the masterpieces from Paul Allen’s collection.

Further, Christie’s is said to have made a major chunk of its sales from The Paul Allen Sale which alone brought in $1.6 million. In addition to this, the Classics category, which includes Old Masters, antiques, and memorabilia, saw the sharpest increase from 2021, with a $789 million total this year.

Business has been so good in Hong Kong that the auction house is planning to expand four fold by 2024.

American buyers spent $4.55 million, accounting for about 40 percent of the house’s total revenue, followed by those from Europe, the middle east, and Africa who made up 34 percent of sales, at $1.8 billion. Further, 40% of the new buyers were said to hail from Asia – throwing light on the emergence of the Asian market as the next big thing.

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All in all – it appears to be a good year for Christie’s!

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A lawyer with a zeal for writing, Ekta has a deep love for linguistics, travel, and philosophy. Not an adrenalin junkie but likes going on occasional hikes to beat the weekday blues. Her bucket list includes escapades to Vietnam, Cambodia, and Morocco.