Art sales haven't been entirely dampened, they're just moving online

While most businesses have shuttered their factories, closed stores and hit the pause button on sales, auction houses, which make their biggest splash at gatherings where collectors huddle together in hotels or galleries to make exorbitant bids for artworks, are seeing a silver lining. Overseas and here, auction houses are capitalising on the fact that collectors are stuck at home — and are online. International auction house Sotheby’s is moving live sales to online-only auctions, or pushing them to a later date, depending on what makes best sense for the category. 

“In 2019 alone, Sotheby’s sold $250 million worth of fine