Procurement analysis, sales planning, customer orientation, brand managementthe art market is changing more rapidly than ever before. The price that a work of art commands influences its place in the art-historical canon. Auction houses have become dominant avenues of distribution, as have art fairs, galleries, and art dealers. Even today the ritual dra­maturgy of the auction resembles an archaic compe­tition, which can leave participants speechless and captivate bystanders. At the center of the action is the auctioneer, whose performance is increasingly critical to the success of the auction. With portraits of auctioneers, this volume tells the story of the art auction business. Key events that played out in cities such as New York, Paris, Zurich, Berlin, Stuttgart, and Pompeii come alive and show how the auctioneer is emerging from the anonymity of a service provider and stepping into the limelight as the star of the show.

CoverTable of ContentA Cultural History of the Art Auction in 14 PortraitsLondon 1766James ChristieThe Power of Place, Promotion and PersonalityPompeii 1875Lucius Caecilius Iucundus Messages from the Art Market in AntiquityLondon 1882The Hamilton Palace Sale and a Global MarketBerlin 19161932Paul Cassirer 81 Auctions between 1916 and 1932Lucerne 1939The AntiheroTheodor Fischer and the Auctioneerin the Age of ExtremesStuttgart 19471962Roman Norbert Ketterer, or the Return of ExpressionismBern 1951Eberhard Kornfeld Connoisseurship and TraditionLondon 195758 and 1977Peter C. WilsonBasel 1964Anke Adler-Slottke Stamps and the First Woman AuctioneerNew York 1990Starry, Starry Night: Dr Gachet, Christopher Burge and Hideto KoyabashiNew York, London, Geneva and Zurich 200001The Dream of a Boutique Auction House Phillips, de Pury& LuxembourgParis 20012009Meeting Saint LaurentNew York 2004Tobias Meyer and the Rise ofAmerican Post-War ArtNew York 2013Echoes of a Landmark Sale Jussi Pylkkänen on the RostrumThe Day-to-day Business of AuctioneeringCircuit: ProvenanceA Bid for Love The Heir by Vita Sackville-WestBest Offers The Top 12 Auctioneering Scenes in Feature FilmsEndnotesAppropriation List Auctioneering in Books, Movies, and Popular CultureAbout the ContributorsAcknowledgementsPhoto CreditsColophon