Sotheby’s Hosts an Online Fine Arts Auction, a First of Its Kind.

A fine arts auction run by the famous Sotheby’s is set to be the first of its kind. Clients will be able to bid directly online via technology hosted by the auction house.

During a video conference about this new method of organization for sales of this size Amy Cappellazzo, the President of Fine Arts at Sotheby’s said that “we are fortunately equipped with technology that allows this, which would have been impossible some five years ago., she added.” Amy also expressed how unexpected this was, given the current circumstances which have surfaced up due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

For almost 30 years that I have worked in the art market, this has never happened. Confirmed Amy

After a serious, online bidding war, a Francis Bacon triptych which was being sold by the Astrup Fearnley Museet, a private museum in Oslo founded by the Norwegian collector Hans Rasmus Astrup sold for $84.6 million.

In all, the marathon evening generated a total of $363.2 million and consisted of three parts: a single-owner sale of works assembled by the late cable television mogul Ginny Williams; postwar and contemporary selections; and an Impressionist and Modern art coda.