Bloomberg reports that Christie’s Contemporary department is considering dropping the Evening sale during Frieze:
Christie’s may scrap its third evening auction in London, held in October during the week of the Frieze Art Fair. [ . . . ] “It’s going to be difficult to get top quality material without guarantees,” said Brett Gorvy, Christie’s co-head of contemporary art. “But there are going to be more people selling who need to sell. From now on estates and distressed sales will be the driving force of the auction market.” [ . . . ]
“It doesn’t make sense to stretch the material too thin,” Gorvy said. “We’re aiming to restore confidence in the market by holding auctions with 80 percent selling rates. But it depends on how much distressed material comes in.”
This would also seem to suggest Christie’s has followed Sotheby’s and is publicly abjuring guarantees.
Sotheby’s, Christie’s Contemporary-Art Sales Total Drops 17% (Bloomberg)
