Critics claim art auction houses are the epitome of elitist sophistication, snobbery and skulduggery. And there is more intrigue in a Sotheby’s or Christie’s auction room than there is in the sum of all brothels on the planet. Of course none of this may be true but it makes for a good story.
Sadly for journalists with a nose for scandal, the days when auctioneering made headlines for its shameless theatrics and charismatic swindling are practically over. Ushered in so graciously by notorious cad and founder of Sotheby’s, Peter Wilson, those good old day are gradually being replaced by equally outrageous, but rather less satisfying reports of ‘corporate realignment’, price-fixing and anti-trust anti-trust investigations.
