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HOW SOTHEBY’S UNWAVERING DEDICATION TO QUALITY HAS HELPED DISTINGUISH ITSELF AS A VISIONARY LEADER ON THE GLOBAL BUSINESS STAGE | By Brittanny Havard

otheby’s Auction House and Sotheby’s International Realty share an unwavering commitment to the very highest level of

quality, not only representing the world’s finest possessions, but also, the walls that house those possessions. By better understanding the bond that unites the Sotheby’s Auction House and the Sotheby’s International Realty brand, consumers are able to make better buying and selling decisions, no matter the product, and have the confidence they are being represented by one of the most storied names on the global business stage.

A BRIEF HISTORY:THE SOTHEBY’S AUCTION HOUSE While many people across the globe are familiar with the Sotheby’s name, what about the brand’s heritage? Few people know that the venerable auction house they know today began with the sale of several hundred valuable books auctioned off by London bookseller and Sotheby’s founder, Samuel Baker on March 11, 1744. The history of Sotheby’s expanded well beyond books to include the finest in decorative arts, jewelry sales, and fine wine, and is defined by extraordinary auction

moments that continue to capture the world’s attention today. Since 1744, Sotheby’s has distinguished itself as a leader in the auction world. Its auctions are conducted in salerooms in London, Paris, Zurich, Milan, and museum-quality galleries in New York and Hong Kong. Season after season, the variety and excellence of Sotheby’s offerings have produced record-breaking sales. Historically, Sotheby’s has been entrusted with the sale of many of the world’s greatest treasures, amongst them including: the Estate of Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis,

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Sotheby’s International Realty®

A Unified CommitmentSotheby’s

Auction House &

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the Duchess of Windsor’s jewels, Rembrandt’s Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer, Rubens’ Massacre of the Innocents, Picasso’s Garçon à la Pipe, Bacon’s Triptych, the Magna Carta, the first printing of the Declaration of Independence, The Martin Luther King Jr. Collection, and countless more. Sotheby’s has long recognized that great works of art, as well as the collectors interested in buying and selling them, inhabit the globe, which inevitably led to the brand’s introduction to real estate, establishing Sotheby’s International Realty in 1976.

A UNIQUE COLLABORATION The Sotheby’s International Realty network benefits from a unique relationship with Sotheby’s Auction House, specifically in regards to exclusive marketing efforts available to affiliates. A variety of programs are available to help Sotheby’s International Realty sales associates capitalize upon these opportunities on a daily basis.

At the Sotheby’s Worldwide Headquarters in New York, a Sotheby’s

International Realty brand desk can be found in the lobby. The desk serves as the first point of contact for Auction House clientele and employees and acts as a bridge between Sotheby’s International Realty brand offices around the world and this key audience. An eGallery and brochure wall displays Sotheby’s International Realty properties from around the world, with similar displays emulated at Sotheby’s auction houses worldwide, offering unparalleled global exposure. An added benefit of the relationship between the Sotheby’s

International Realty brand and the Auction House is the availability of behind-the-scenes tours of Sotheby’s Auction House that are available to Sotheby’s International Realty agents and clients, allowing a rare glimpse into the inner workings of how auctions function. These tours educate real estate brokers and their clients about the entire process of getting some of the world’s most prized and beautiful objects to auction—outlining the total cataloguing, exhibition, and sale process. Today the Sotheby’s Auction House maintains 80 locations in 40 countries and conducts 250 auctions annually in over 70 categories, with the opportunity for Sotheby’s International Realty affiliates to have a live presence at some of these world-renowned auctions. In addition to Sotheby’s four principal salerooms in New York, London, Geneva and Paris, the company, recognizing the potential in new markets, also conducts auctions in six other salerooms around the world, including Hong Kong.

Contemporary Art Evening Sale17 November 2016 | 7:00 PM EST | New York

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A JOURNEY TO HONG KONG Hong Kong is a key market for both art and real estate. Sotheby’s was the first international auction house to launch in Asia, establishing both an office and holding an inaugural auction in Hong Kong in 1973. The city has since become central to Sotheby’s involvement with the Asian art market. Most recently, at the Sotheby’s Hong Kong Autumn 2016 Sales Series that took place September 30–October 5, 2016, a large group of brokers from Colorado real estate firm, LIV Sotheby’s International Realty, traveled to Hong Kong to connect with Sotheby’s Auction House clients and Sotheby’s International Realty brokers to promote the state of Colorado and many of the firm’s luxury properties for sale. At the auction, exceptional objects encompassing Chinese Works of Art, fine Classical Chinese Paintings, Contemporary Ink Art, Modern Asian Art, Contemporary Asian Art, Modern Contemporary Southeast Asian Art, Jewelry, Watches and Wine went under the hammer at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, and LIV Sotheby’s International Realty was positioned at the epicenter of it all. With approximately 10,000 people, or nearly 10% of newcomers relocating to, or investing in, the metropolitan Denver

and Colorado Front Range real estate market each year from international areas, including Asia, the opportunity to connect more closely with this increasing segment of LIV Sotheby’s International Realty’s growth was invaluable. Not only were life-long connections made, but LIV Sotheby’s International Realty’s first Mandarin Chinese edition of LIV Magazine, featuring the company’s most distinctive listings, was distributed to Sotheby’s clients and brokers participating in the Hong Kong auction (pictured below). As a result of this strong partnership and shared history, Sotheby’s International

Realty brokers are positioned to maximize exposure to international markets including Hong Kong, and have the ability to strengthen important relationships helpful to successfully marketing unique, luxury properties in Colorado for valued clients.

RECENT SALES OF SIGNIFICANCE While each Sotheby’s auction is unique, there are a select number of annual sales that truly stand out among the most notable Sotheby’s art, jewelry and wine sales of the season. Blending true artistic significance, rich and diverse heritage, and a level of interest so high that it captivates audiences across the globe—these are the sales that make history when they go under the hammer, and the sales that embody the extraordinary nature of the Sotheby’s auction house. Recently, considered among some of the most elite sales within the Sotheby’s art family were the Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale and the Contemporary Art Evening Auction in New York, the Sotheby’s wine sale that featured Bollinger Champagne in New York, and the Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels exhibition that took place in Geneva.

Ni Can, Landscapes After Song MastersInk and color on silk, 1764-1841Sold $17,731 USD10 livsothebysrealty.com

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ART On November 14, 2016 the venerable Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale took place in New York, auctioning off a selection of late 19th and early 20th century avant-garde works. From world-renowned Impressionist paintings to iconic sculptures by Pablo Picasso, the evening offered a selection of dynamic works from some of the most well-known Impressionist and Modern Artists in history, with top sales including Edvard Munch’s 1902 masterpiece, Pikene på broen (Girls on the Bridge), leading the sale at $54.5 million, over $20 million more than its 2008 auction price. This sale was not the first time Munch’s Girls on the Bridge took center stage at auction, having twice set an auction record for the artist at Sotheby’s—first in 1996, when it sold for $7.7 million, and again in 2008, when it sold for $30.8 million. Following The Scream, which sold at Sotheby’s New York in 2012 for $119.9

million—the sale of Girls on the Bridge marks the second-highest auction price for any work by Munch. Equally impressive results were achieved at the Contemporary Art Evening Auction that took place on November 17, 2016 in New York. There, the art of major players within the Contemporary Art scene were auctioned, offering truly rare and prestigious examples of Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimalism and Postmodernism alongside various groundbreaking paintings and sculptures by the most influential Contemporary Art innovators of our time. The Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Evening Auction in New York totaled $276.6 million in sales with artist, Gerhard Richter’s A B, Still earning $34 million, along with frenzied bidding for Andy Warhol’s Self-Portrait (Fright Wig), which achieved $24.4 million, the highest total sale for a work by the artist that week.

Pictured above, clockwise from upper left:

Pablo Picasso, Le Peintre et son modèleOil on canvas, 1963Sold $12,906,000 USD

Edvard Munch, Pikene på broen (Girls on the Bridge)Oil on canvas, 1902Sold $54,487,500 USD

Pablo Picasso, Tête de femmeBronze, 1951Sold $8,450,000 USD

Gerhard Richter, A B, StillOil on canvas, 1986Sold $33,987,500 USD

Willem de Kooning, Untitled XXXIXOil on canvas, 1983Sold $9,800,000 USD (record for artist)

Andy Warhol, Self-Portrait (Fright Wig)Acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas, 1986Sold $24,425,000 USD

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Brother’s Sausage Acrylic, oilstick and paper collage on canvas, 1983Sold $18,650,000 USD

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WINE Sotheby’s Wine rounded out its New York calendar of auctions on November 19, 2016 in Geneva with the ‘Champagne Bollinger, Direct from The Cellars & Finest Wines’ auction, marking the first time Bollinger Champagne was ever sold at auction. The sale made history netting $3,867,713 in total sales from the sales of some very special bottles of Champagne Bollinger and a selection of other fine wines. The auction brought the total for New York Wine sales to $34 million—the second highest amount of sales earned since the inception of the North American Sotheby’s Wine auctions 23 years ago. Opening the auction with a selection of bottles of Champagne Bollinger, direct from the winery’s famed cellars in Aÿ, France, a 102-year-old bottle of Bollinger from 1914 that was recently discovered in an unused wine cellar, accompanied by an exclusive visit to the cellars of Bollinger, led the sale for $12,250. Other highlights from the auction included a 3-liter jeroboam of Bollinger 1979, which had an estimated selling price of between $2,400 to $3,200, selling for $6,738, and 3 bottles of 1973 Bollinger Année Rare, which, estimated to sell at between $1,600 to $2,200, earned $5,145 at auction.

JEWELRY Another record-breaking sale of the season was the ‘Magnificent Jewels & Noble Jewels’ auction that took place at Sotheby’s in Geneva. The sale featured an impressive collection of colored diamonds, as well as period jewels with noble provenance and fine colored gemstones. Notable pieces at the auction included a historic and magnificent diamond choker, formerly in the collection of the imperial Russian family, a spectacular Cartier ‘Sky Blue’ Fancy Vivid Blue diamond ring weighing 8.01 carats, and several Fancy Intense Pink Diamonds. Multiple records were broken at the packed saleroom at the Magnificent Jewels and Noble Jewels auction, with sales totaling $136,428,215—the highest total for any jewelry sale of the season. The evening was led by a number of outstanding pieces, including a Fancy Intense Pink diamond ring, which after lively bidding, reached $20,778,352, and the exceptional ‘Sky Blue Diamond’, which sold for $17,074,168. New records were set for Fancy Deep Blue, Fancy Light Blue, and Fancy Light Pink Diamonds, demonstrating the strength of the market for colored diamonds.

Pictured top, left:Romanée Conti 2002-2010 Domaine de la Romanée-ContiPer lot:$7,000-$12,000 USD

Pictured bottom, left:Bollinger, 2003 by Bollinger, Brut 2003Disgorged 11/05/2007Per lot: $900-1,400 USD

Pictured bottom, right:Cartier, “THE SKY BLUE DIAMOND”Superb Fancy Vivid Blue Diamond ring, 8.01 caratsSold $17,074,168 USD

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Whether through the purchase or sale of art, jewelry, wine or real estate, the lineage of Sotheby’s and the brand’s global success today is rooted in the brand’s commitment to excellence before all else. In a world growing increasingly fast-paced, commitment to quality is one area that should never lag, and luckily, with the Sotheby’s Auction House and the Sotheby’s International Realty brand’s time-tested goal to always remain committed to the very best, it won’t.

Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale14 November 2016 | 7:00 PM EST | New York

Pictured above, left to right:

Chaïm Soutine, Le Rouquin, Oil on canvas, 1917-19Sold $3,837,500 USD

Marc Chagall, Nature Morte, Oil on burlap, 1910-11Sold $4,737,500 USD

Vincent van Gogh, Nature morte: vase aux glaïeulsOil on canvas, 1886Sold $5,862,500 USD

Maurice de Vlaminck, Le Verger, Oil on canvas, 1906Sold $7,550,000 USD

Pictured left:From Important Private CollectionFancy Intense Pink Diamond ring, 17.07 caratsSold $20,778,352 USD

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