Following Global Auction Calendar Shifts, Sotheby’s Moves Marquee Hong Kong Sales to July

As the impact of the coronavirus’s spread has forced the auction sector to makes major changes to its spring calendar, each of the top auction houses has announced sales calendar shifts, with Christie’s and Phillips now holding their leading 20th century week sales at the end of June and consolidating New York and London sales to be held in their Manhattan locations.

As announced last week, Sotheby’s moved a selection of live mid-spring sales online, and on Wednesday, the house confirmed plans to relocate its Hong Kong Modern and Contemporary Art Sales — which had been scheduled to be moved to New York in mid-April amid growing Covid-19 concerns — to now be moved back to their original location in Hong Kong at the beginning of July. Sotheby’s Asia CEO Kevin Ching noted the sale changes would “provide the best possible context for our consignors and buyers.”

The house’s three major Hong Kong sales affected by the change include the Modern Art Evening Sale and Contemporary Art Evening & Day Sales to coincide with the remaining sales series, which includes multiple categories comprising offerings of Chinese works of art and Southeast Asian art as well as jewels, watches, and wine.

Featuring sale highlights from the modern and contemporary evening sales such as David Hockney’s anticipated $10.3 million 30 Sunflowers from 1996 and Chinese painter Sanyu’s Quatre Nus, the traveling exhibitions slated for this week in Hong Kong and, in April, in Taipei have also been postponed with new dates yet to be announced.