On Bloomberg, James Tarmy looks at the surprising (maybe not-so-surprising) success of Sotheby’s erotic art cross-category sale:

The Erotic sale is thus the latest example of the “cross-category” concept auction houses have pushed, in recent years, in an effort to reinvigorate sleepier segments of the art market. The nudes get the collectors through the door, and the dramatic price disparity between old art and new keeps the checkbooks open. What consignor could say no? […]

“We were planning to hold them every other year,” says Constantine Frangos, the specialist who organized the sale. “But we had so many demands, from both buyers and sellers, that we put together a second auction a year later.” […]

“We found that the extremely shocking ones get a lot of publicity,” Frangos says. “But they aren’t the best sellers.”

How Sotheby’s Convinced Clients to Sex Up Their Art  (Bloomberg)