Sotheby's Launches 'Your Art World'

It changes you, the best art.

~ Collector James Frey

Ever wonder what it takes to make, buy, and sell art? Sotheby's, international art cataloguer and auction house, has created an online series Your Art World that currently comprises four short films intended to demystify or at least offer some insights into the creative process and collecting, buying, and selling art. While undoubtedly serving Sotheby's own promotional and marketing needs, the series is worth a look (it's received its fair share of press, too, most recently a write-up in The Washington Post): 

✦ The Artist ~ The creative process is discussed by the internationally known artists Jeff Koons, Ronald Ventura, Cai Guo-Qiang, and Amy Granat.

✦ The Collector ~ Art collectors Guiseppe and Daniel Eskenazi of Eskenazi Limited, a Chinese art dealer based in London, Kip Forbes of Forbes Publishing, writer James Frey, Adam Lindemann, and Budiardjo Tek, president/director of Sierad, a poultry-based food company in Indonesia, speak about their passion for art, what motivates them to collect, and what they've learned in competing with others for the art treasures they want.

✦ The Rostrum ~ Sotheby's own "masters of the gavel", including principal auctioneer Tobias Meyer, chairman Henry Wyndham, Lisa Hubbard, and Chin Yeow Quek, offer their insights and observations about the mechanics of auctions, understanding bidders' mentality, and being part of the bidding at highly competitive art auctions.

✦ The House ~ Staff talk about the excitement of being on the floor of the house and helping bring in a work of art that's come up for sale.

In addition to the film shorts, the site includes an online gallery that correlates to each of the segments. Information about the contributors to the series can be found here.

Sotheby's on FaceBook, Twitter, and You Tube

Of Related Interest


Richard Polsky, The Art Prophets: The Artists, Dealers, and Tastemakers Who Shook the Art World (Other Press, October 2011)

Charles Saatchi, My Name Is Charles Saatchi and I Am an Artoholic (Phaidon Press, 2009)

James Stourton, Great Collectors of Our Time: Art Collecting Since 1945 (Scala Publishers, 2008)

Don Thompson, The $12 Million Stufed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art (Palgrave Macmillian, 2008)

Sarah Thornton, Seven Days in the Art World (W.W. Norton, 2009)