Seller beware

Rufus Bird says Sotheby’s new fee structure favours the auctioneer

“WE THOUGHT THE protest was an extremely dignified one. They could not have done it in a nicer way,” said Graham Llewellyn, deputy chairman of Sotheby’s and auctioneer at a silver sale in 1975 after a walk-out of silver dealers during an auction following the introduction of the 10 per cent buyer’s “premium”, or fee. Though this event nearly half a century ago was certainly from a different era, it marked the shift in how business is done at art auctions. Auction houses have a fiduciary responsibility to the seller, not to the buyer. Surely, it makes sense to ask the seller to pay a fee. This is how much of the art market works: you go into a gallery, ask the price, maybe haggle a bit and pay. If…

You're reading a preview of

The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, July 2024

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.