articles/Guess what was a record year at auction — theartnewspaper.com

Christie’s has maintained its $800m lead at auction over Sotheby’s in 2014, as both houses reported record nominal sales for 2014. Christie’s auction total came in at $6.8bn (up from its previous $5.9bn record in 2013) and Sotheby’s at $6bn (up from $5.2bn in 2013; its previous sales record was $5.4bn in 2007). Though in percentage terms the gap is narrowing between the two market leaders, it is likely to look wider once Sotheby’s reports its full year private sales figures. Christie’s headline total of $8.4bn includes an extra $1.5bn of private sales (plus $35.1m through its eCommerce channel), up from $1.2bn last year. Sotheby’s has previously reported that private sales numbers had fallen by 53% to $447.6m in the first nine months of 2014 (these were also $1.2bn for the full year in 2013). Its full year 2014 total will be included in its earnings announcement, due in February.

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