1.) Sotheby’s and 2.) Christie’s

Christie’s and Sotheby’s are the world’s premier auction houses.  Sotheby’s focuses only on high-end fine and decorative art, jewelry, and wine, while Christie’s also sells objects priced in the mid-range.  Each handles sales in over 50 categories, including Impressionism and Modern, Post-War and Contemporary, fine jewels, and Chinese ceramics.  Recent notable sales include the collection of Elizabeth Taylor at Christie’s, which totaled about $157m and Yves Saint Laurent’s sale totaling about $484m.  Salesrooms and offices are located all over the world, with most of the major sales taking place in New York and London.   Sotheby’s has a lot threshold of $5,000.

3.) Bonhams

Bonhams is a privately-owned British auction houses and one of the oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques, with locations in Europe, the Americas, Australia, and Asia.  Bonhams has over 40 specialty categories and dominates the antiquities, arms and armor, ceramics, clocks, and several other areas in the United Kingdom.  In October 2011, Bonhams held its inaugural contemporary art sale, which included works by Glenn Brown, Alice Neel, and Roni Horn.

4.) Phillips de Pury

Like Christie’s and Sotheby’s, Phillips de Pury was founded in the eighteenth century in London, and also specializes in contemporary objects, selling design, art, jewelry, photography, and editions.  Phillips is an excellent choice for selling contemporary design in particular.  The reopening of their 57th Street location in New York commenced with their Carte Blanche sale auctioned by Philippe Ségalot, featuring works by Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Takashi Murakami.  The majority of sales are held in London or the headquarters in New York.

5.) Heritage Auctions

Heritage is the largest collectibles auction house and the third largest auction house in the world.  Its headquarters are in Dallas, but sales also take place in New York, Beverly Hills, and online.  In 2010, a 1939 comic in which Batman makes his debut was sold for $1,075,500.  Heritage is the perfect channel through which to sell coins, vintage comics, movie poster, manuscripts, and other collectibles and memorabilia.

6.) Skinner

Skinner, located in Boston and with a gallery in Marlborough, is New England’s leading auction house for antiques and fine art, but buyers come from all over the world.  They have over 20 specialty departments, ranging from American and European paintings and prints and folk art to Oriental rugs and silver.

7.) Roland Auctions NY

Roland Auctioneers & Valuers, a family-owned operation founded in 1975, specializes in period antiques and fine furnishings, art, instruments, and rugs.  Auctions are generally held once a month, but antiques are regularly sold to clients throughout the US and internationally.  Roland also handles estate liquidation, including advising on where or by what means to sell items.

Have more questions about auction houses? Just email us at: info@heidileeartadvisory.com

Composed by Sara Skwiertz

1) Get in a conservation mindset. Accept that you will have to spend some amount of time, money, and effort on your collection. Whether you are motivated by a desire to maintain the integrity of your artworks, maximize the future value of an investment, or preserve your cultural heritage, start caring about the longevity of your collection!

2) Spend on framing. Have a trained conservator help you select suitable frames for your artworks in order to prevent using materials that will accelerate their degradation. Ask yourself these questions: do you know the type of glass utilized? Is it UV protected? Are the materials used behind the work of art filled with acidic gasses or outdated materials that can jeopardize the artworks over time?

3) Don’t rely on memory. Document your collection frequently with high definition photography to catch gradual fading or damage so you have accurate reference points for yourself and your conservator. This way you will avoid problems before it’s too late.

4) Know your environment. What are the temperature and relative humidity levels in rooms with your artworks? Are any of your artworks in areas where they are exposed to excessive or direct sunlight? Have your outdoor pieces been treated by a conservator with protective coatings against the elements?

5) Train your housekeepers. Have an art conservator advise which artworks to delegate to your housekeepers and how they should clean/maintain your collection. Some pieces are fine to be cleaned by housekeepers while other objects are best left to professionals.

6) Work with professionals. Use professional, reputable art handlers while installing, re-arranging, or moving your collection. Use a fine art storage facility when storing artworks.

7) Know before you lend. Lending your collection to museums or other institutions involves risks. The process of lending an artwork is traumatic to its integrity, as vibration, minor impacts, changes of temperature during transit, and other variables over time can lead to deterioration. Ensure that the borrowing institution is taking proper precautions to handle, store, and display your art. Ask an art conservator to provide detailed condition reports both before and after lending.

Periodically maintain your collection. Have an experienced art conservator walk through your collection to spot potential problems or risks before they turn into major issues that are either expensive to treat or create irreparable damage.

9) Don’t try to fix it yourself. A good percentage of conservation and restoration work is actually generated by damage caused to artworks by well-intentioned collectors. Leave the art restoration to an expert.

Gloria Velandia’s website

A. First, it is important to see as much art as you can to develop your eye and understanding of contemporary art in general. Whether you go to galleries on the weekends or visit museums on your holidays, you can always fit art and culture into your schedule since galleries and museums accommodate the public and remain open during “off hours”.  Since you live in NYC, gallery hopping is a popular and fun Saturday afternoon activity in Chelsea. You can see dozens of galleries in one neighborhood – there is no other city in the world where you can do that! Pop in and sign-up to receive invites to art openings in the future. Once you get a feel for what you like, create a list of artists that caught your eye or that you want to learn more about and start following them.

Art fairs are also a great way to see a lot of art under one roof and cultivate your interests. Before you know it you will get ineluctably engaged and enjoy the many splendors that art has to give. Remember, to acquire only what you like.

Art advisor and USPAP certified appraiser Heidi Lee explores the emergence of the Far East as a thriving force in the global art market

by Heidi Lee

“Swooping in to the top buys of the art market, a select group of very powerful and fast acting Chinese buyers are aiding many areas of the art market to thrive amid economic uncertainty. China buoyed by its exponential economic growth has become the second largest art market after the U.S. Hong Kong alone saw an amazing sales turnover increase by 300% from 2009-2010*. Bill Ruprecht, Sotheby’s chief executive, said the Chinese are spending about US$4b a year on Chinese paintings worldwide. This figure is more than Sotheby’s and Christie’s sales last year of Impressionist, Modern and Contemporary art combined and that’s before we factor in the billions they have spent on Western artists.

Chinese collectors typically hon in on their own traditional art, though they also see the value of international artists. In general, younger buyers acquire modern and contemporary Asian art such as Zeng Fanzhi (widely considered as the zeitgeist for the art market), Yue Minjun, Zhang Xiogang, Ai Wei Wei, Yang Fudong, and Lui Yi and mix them with international rising stars like Mark Bradford, Dana Schutz, Sterling Ruby and others….”

All testimonials

- R. Adam Smith, CEO, Circle Peak Capital LLC and Design Holdings Co LLC

All testimonials

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Jan Abt’s aim is to engage the viewer by creating a sense of empathy with the object which he says is created through his personal relationship with each work. His autonomous process involves a series of spontaneous changes and reworkings where he may not know whether the figure will end up being male or female. He describes his work as more of “an unconscious response to the immediate experience of working from life then pushing any one idea deliberately.” Abandoning all control of the object and process then the viewer is left to complete the story.

Indeed, Abt’s life-size nude figures, when experienced in person are evocative and fresh upon first encounter. Although his work is steeped in art history with strong affiliations to Aristide Maillol, Pablo Picasso, Rene Mattisse, and Alberto Giacometti they are also witty and easy to relate to. One can see that he is rapidly moving away from his Modernist beginnings to a more radical approach to making contemporary sculpture.

Jan Abt received a Masters of Fine Arts from The New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture and lives in Manhattan.

To see more images of Jan Abt’s art visit his website