Christie’s and Phillips Are Both Canceling Their Spring Art Sales in Favor of Having Giant Mega-Auctions in June

Both Christie’s and Phillips auction houses announced today that
they will be delaying their spring New York auctions, originally
planned for May, until June. They are keeping their Hong Kong
auctions on schedule for late May as the region appears to be
rebounding from its public health crisis.

Christie’s auctions of Impressionist and modern art, as well as
postwar and contemporary art, will now take place in New York from
June 23 to June 28. The sales will include the house’s usual London
auctions in the same categories, all folded into a single
consolidated New York season. Specialists are in the process of
discussing the changes with would-be consignors to the London sale,
according to Christie’s president of North and South America
Jennifer Zatorski.

Philips will now hold its 20th century and contemporary art
sales in New York the week of June 22, also consolidating its New
York and London sales into one week.

“So far there has been nothing but full
understanding and positivity from consignors,” said Christie’s
global president Jussi Pylkannen on a conference call with
journalists this morning. “We’re getting the message out quite
early so that clients can plan accordingly. The consignors from
Europe that I’ve been dealing with over the past two
weeks have been very happy to hear
that there is a plan that allows the sale at the same time they
would have been held here in London but to consolidate with the
sales in New York and collectors and consignors can focus on one
location.”

Asked if the new schedule could result in a permanent lineup
change, Pylkkanen said, “We’re just reacting
to a particular issue. We don’t think that early May is a good time
to schedule sales in New York. This seems to be a very sensible,
rational way of dealing with it.”

Christie’s CEO Guillaume Cerutti pointed to strong recent
sales in New York and London and robust private sale activity in
recent months, but conceded that consignors “are more cautious” at
the moment. “They are waiting to see if they can postpone their
decision about selling.”

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, the spring Asian art and luxury
sales remain scheduled to take place from May 30 to June 3. And
Geneva’s Luxury Week, which includes sales of jewels, watches, and
wine, is still scheduled to take place June 29 to July 1, having
been moved from mid May.

Phillips’s Hong Kong sales are still slated for May 31 to June
2. Dates for a series of auctions planned in London in early June
have yet to be be announced.

“As we navigate through these difficult times together, we are
taking positive steps in announcing plans for future auctions,”
Phillips CEO Edward Dolman and global chairwoman Cheyenne Westphal
said in a joint statement.

The post Christie’s and Phillips Are Both Canceling Their
Spring Art Sales in Favor of Having Giant Mega-Auctions in June
appeared first on artnet News.