Sotheby’s announced that it had good results in 2022, thanks to continued innovation and successful auctions in both Fine Art and Luxury. Three single-owner collections totaling over $100 million were sold, and the company plans to expand its global audience even further.
Sotheby’s is projecting that their total consolidated sales will be over $8 billion by the end of 2022. Fine Art and Luxury auction sales are currently at $6.4 billion, including online sales at $580 million, and totals from newly acquired businesses RM Sotheby’s and Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions. Private Sales are projected to reach over $1.1 billion for the third consecutive year.
More bidders are coming to Sotheby’s auction houses each year, and many of them are new to the business. This is especially true of people in their twenties or younger, who are bidding more in luxury categories.
EXPANDING GLOBAL FOOTPRINT
Asia’s market leader, Sotheby’s, is opening a new location in Hong Kong in 2024. The new building will have a big exhibition space and will be a showcase for all of Sotheby’s services – from auctions to private sales to exhibitions of art and luxury collectibles. The new location will also have a sale calendar spread across the year, with live auctions hosted within the same compound.
Sotheby’s is announcing that it will be moving to new premises in Shanghai in 2023. This follows a strong year for the company, with auction sales of $1.1 billion. In 2022, Sotheby’s also opened a new office in Tokyo, staged its first auction in Singapore for 15 years, and held the first major international exhibition in Vietnam. The year also welcomed new appointments in Mainland China, South Korea, and Thailand, as well as the recent expansion of Sotheby’s Buy Now in Hong Kong to enable collectors to acquire art and luxury collectibles via an intuitive digital platform all-year round.
Further Asia highlights:
The client base in Asia is expanding rapidly, with record numbers of bidders bidding at Sotheby’s auctions. This year, the number of under-40s bidding has tripled.
Asian collectors are spending a lot more on average than collectors from other parts of the world. They’re also bidding more than people from other parts of the world.
When Sotheby’s sold art in Asia, about one in three bidders was new to the company. And, in Sotheby’s global sales, 68% of new bidders were from countries in Asia.
This year, eight out of ten items sold at auction in Asia were bought by Sotheby’s. Next year, Sotheby’s will have a special celebration to mark its 50th anniversary in Asia. They’ll hold a series of events and auctions across the region to make sure everyone can celebrate.
In celebration of its 5th anniversary, Sotheby’s Dubai gallery has been hosting more exhibitions than ever before. This expansion is especially evident by the number of buyers and bidders from the Middle East who have made their first purchase at a Sotheby’s auction.
In 2022, sales in Europe totaled $2.3 billion, which is the highest total since 2015. Sales in London were the highest since 2018, and sales in Paris were the strongest ever. Italy had a very good year, and Sotheby’s auctioned its first item in Cologne.
In 2022, there were new gallery openings in Brussels, Monaco, and Aspen.
SUSTAINED DEMAND FOR MASTERPIECES DRIVES GLOBAL FINE ART SALES
In 2022, there was a lot of collector demand for exceptional masterpieces, which resulted in over 120 artist records being sold by Sotheby’s this year.
The global sale of fine art is predicted to reach $5.7 billion this year. This is the highest total ever achieved in auction for Impressionist and Modern Art, and the second highest total for Contemporary Art.
Finally, Sotheby’s has also been successful in launching new sale formats that have produced record-breaking results. The Now, which features masters of today and tomorrow, and Artists’ Choice, an innovative primary platform empowering galleries and artists to shape their public markets, have both been very successful. Another important factor in auction success is the sale of 20th century Design.
Annual sales in this category have increased by over 30% since 2019, thanks in part to the sales of Ronald Perelman’s ($35 million) and Dorothée Lalanne’s ($47.5 million) collections. Success at auction depends on the sale of artworks by single owners. This year, the top three collections by value sold at auction were all from private individuals: David M. Solinger’s collection, Sir Joseph Hotung’s collection, and The Macklowe Collection. Additionally, Sotheby’s set a world record for an auction of French decorative arts when they sold Hôtel Lambert for €76.6 million.
This success has driven annual sales in this category to their second highest levels. In addition, Sotheby’s has seen strong demand for works by Women artists. This year, the number of works by women artists sold at auction that were worth over $1 million increased by over 70%.
Sotheby’s is happy to have five new auctioneers who have a lot of knowledge and experience to share with the rest of the auctioneers. They come from different parts of the company, from different departments, and have different backgrounds and cultures.
LUXURY CATEGORIES DOUBLE IN VALUE
Sotheby’s luxury sales have increased by a lot recently, and they’re projected to reach $2.3 billion this year. This includes new acquisitions, such as RM Sotheby’s and Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions. This is a record high for any auction house. Sales continue this month with New York luxury week (expected to bring in a low estimate of $120 million).
The wine and watch sales at Sotheby’s were very successful this year, with jewelry sales also doing well. This is especially impressive, as jewelry sales have been on the rise for the past few years. This is likely because people are more interested in buying beautiful things than ever before.
This year, 5 of the top 10 most valuable items sold at auction were luxury items, including the Williamson Pink Star diamond which sold for $57.8 million, Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions sale of America’s largest residence The One for over $141 million, a world record for the most valuable home ever sold in the US through auction, and RM Sotheby’s sale of a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe for €135 million.
Sotheby’s is doing a lot of new things this year. They’ve started selling real estate, started selling streetwear and modern collectables, started selling spirits, and started selling watches. They’re also holding an exhibition dedicated to jewellers of black origin, and they’re doing a second edition of Brilliant and Black.
Sotheby’s online store, which sells high-quality art and luxury items, has been growing rapidly, with gross sales up by 100% this year and an average unit value of $7,000. They have just launched their store in Asia, as there is growing demand from collectors in the region.
Some new selling formats include Sotheby’s Sealed, which was unveiled by RM Sotheby’s in Spring of 2022. This new auction system has been used to sell some of the world’s most significant cars to an exclusive global audience. Juan Manuel Fangio’s personal Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster, the fabled white Ferrari Enzo, McLaren F1 chassis no. 059, the Warhol 300 SL Gullwing, and now the “Matte Nero Opaco Enzo” have all been sold using this format.
GROWING AUDIENCES
Sotheby’s was one of the most influential companies in the world in 2022. They saw an increase in audience reach and demographics thanks to their investments in seamless digital client experiences and cultural collaborations with some of the celebrities listed.
There were a lot of people watching livestreams of Sotheby’s November sales. The week with the most views was the week when the sales took place in New York City. The sales that week drew in 7.3 million people. Social media followers for Sotheby’s are spread out across all platforms, which is unusual for a company. Three new Instagram accounts were launched in Asia this month: @sothebysdesign, @sothebysstyle, and @sothebysneakers.
The Marquee Week auctions were livestreamed on Instagram, and saw a 25% increase in social media engagement in 2022. The top video of the auction turnstile reached over 3 million views. 17.3 million unique visitors to Sothebys.com YTD, up 35% in 2021. Downloads of Sotheby’s App are up 70% YoY.91% of auction bids placed online.
SOTHEBY’S SOCIAL IMPACT
This year, Sotheby’s made a big announcement called “Impact.” This means that they are committed to making the art and luxury industries more inclusive, sustainable, and collaborative.
This year, Sotheby’s held an event called the Inaugural Impact Gala. This event raised over $3 million for Instituto Terra, an NGO founded by a renowned photographer named Sebastião Salgado. Instituto Terra focuses on reforestation and ecological education in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.
Sotheby’s benefits auctions have raised a total of $430 million for different charities. This includes money raised through live auctions, which are done by Sotheby’s volunteer auctioneers, consigned lots in Sotheby’s sales, and benefit auctions on Sothebys.com.
RECORD YEAR FOR SFS
Sotheby’s Financial Services had a very successful year, with more people wanting to use its services and the company growing larger and more efficient.
Sotheby’s portfolio grew by 50% in the past year, and this was highlighted by an expansion of the client base, meaning that they believe that there is increasing demand for full-service art lending. They also secured additional committed capital to help them meet this demand, and they also introduced five new partners to help them diversify their funding sources. Finally, they have deployed an end-to-end technology-enabled loan management platform that is designed to improve the client experience and create efficiencies.
LOOKING AHEAD
In January 2023, Sotheby’s will have a new live auction format called “The One.” This auction will be focused on best-in-class cross-category 3D objects. In Paris, Sotheby’s is teaming up with The Paris Opera and the AROP (Friends of the Paris Opera) for a special benefit auction on January 30th. This sale will offer works and collectibles from all eras and styles, all generously donated by artists, collectors and gallery owners.
In January, Sotheby’s Metaverse platform will launch a peer-to-peer marketplace where buyers and sellers can trade digital art and collectibles. This is big news because it means that all transactions will be conducted on the Ethereum and Polygon blockchains, which are two of the most secure and reliable digital asset platforms out there. This shows how committed Sotheby’s is to the digital art and collectibles community.
In 2022, total sales volume for NFTs through Sotheby’s platforms increased by nearly 25 times from the year before. This suggests that digital art and collectibles are still growing in popularity, which is great news for collectors.
In February 2023, Sotheby’s will auction off a collection of six Air Jordans that belonged to Michael Jordan. These sneakers were worn in Jordan’s six “Championship Clinching” NBA Finals games, and are considered to be some of the most valuable sneakers in the world. The collection will tour various locations around the world, and it is expected to sell for a lot of money.
Later in the year, Sotheby’s will be celebrating the centenary of the legendary annual 24-hour race at Le Mans in France. They will be selling 24 race cars that are historically important to the Le Mans race.
Sotheby’s is a place where people can buy and sell art and luxury items. Auctions are a big part of what they do, and they also have other ways of selling things, like through private sales. Their platform is very advanced, with a lot of different kinds of items. They have people all over the world who know about art and luxury, and they make it easy for people to buy and sell things.