In a surprise move, leading auction house Christies has announced that it will discontinue its annual sales in India.
One of the leading players in the art business, Christie's first annual sale in India took place in December 2013 and raised the bar for art auctions in India. It doubled its pre-sale expectations with a total of Rs 96,59,37,500.
With this sale Christie's pioneered in the Indian art space, becoming the only international auction house to hold annual sales in India. Every year since then, new records were made and fresh segments were added to their catalogue.
"Christie's confirms that it is undertaking a global review to adapt its activities to better serve the evolving art market, a growing international client base and enable ongoing investment in the company's world leading digital art sales platform," the auction house informed IANS in a statement.
It is expected that auctions of Indian modern and contemporary art will now take place internationally, in London and New York.
The current changes, according to the auction house, has been put in place to offer a single destination to collectors in London, creating a vibrant hub at the flagship King Street headquarters.
The announcement has been made as part of a broader strategy to consolidate operations around the world.
--IANS
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