藝評

A scene photographed by John Batten while passing Sotheby's Maison, Sotheby's retail arm housed in glass-fronted shops inside a Hong Kong shopping mall. Text in English & Chinese.    請向下捲動閱讀中文版

 

 

Above image:

 

《Moments in Time》──可即時購買，手錶及其他物品開幕酒會的展覽及文字，香港中環蘇富比旗艦藝廊，2025年8月21日。photo: 約翰百德 

 

Moments in Time – Available for Immediate Purchase, exhibition and text at opening reception of watches and other items for sale, Sotheby’s Maison, Central, Hong Kong, 21 August 2025 (photo: John Batten)

'Moments in Time – Available for Immediate Purchase'

Photograph & text: John Batten

 

A few months ago, contributor Sam Knight’s article How a Billionaire Owner Brought Turmoil and Trouble to Sotheby’s was published in The New Yorker, following similar reports in art publications. Each discussed French-Israeli telecommunications billionaire Patrick Drahi’s ownership of auction house Sotheby’s, which he purchased in 2019.

 

The article outlines Drahi’s propensity for cost-cutting, staff downsizing and extracting capital from the businesses he operates. Since his purchase, Sotheby’s debt has risen, nearly a quarter of its staff have left and US$1 billion of dividends have been paid to its holding company.

 

Also, a disastrous recent attempt to introduce a new fixed set of fees for buyers and sellers at its auctions backfired. The fixed fees did not allow Sotheby’s art specialists any leeway to negotiate fees with potential consignors. Christie’s duly undercut its rival. Sotheby’s specialists consequently struggled to find stock for their auctions. Just seven months later, amid falling business, Sotheby’s reverted to its old fee structure.

 

The above photograph could be illustrative of Sotheby’s recent approach to business. It also reflects the transactional nature of the art auction world. Similarly, Meules, one of Claude Monet’s haystack paintings, sold for US$110 million at a Sotheby’s New York evening sale in 2019: it was the year’s highest-priced painting. Knight tells us that during the bidding, Harry Dalmeny, the auctioneer, urged bidders, “The longer you spend buying it, the longer you’ll spend enjoying it.”

  

 

封底 – 攝影及文字

Photograph & text：約翰百德 (John Batten)

 

 

幾個月前，《紐約客》刊登了撰稿人山姆．奈特的文章《How a Billionaire Owner Brought Turmoil and Trouble to Sotheby’s》（億萬富豪如何為蘇富比帶來動盪與麻煩），內容呼應多份藝術刊物討論法藉以色列電訊億萬富翁帕特里克．德拉希在2019年收購蘇富比拍賣行後的管理模式的報導。

 

文章指出，德拉希管理企業的慣常手法包括削成本、縮減人手和提取資金。自收購以來，蘇富比的債務持續上升，近四分一的員工離職，並向其控股公司支付了總額達10億美元的股息。

 

此外，蘇富比近期嘗試推行全新固定收費制度亦宣告失敗。新制度下，買家與賣家需支付固定費用，令蘇富比的藝術專家失去了與委託人靈活談判的空間。結果佳士得乘勢壓價搶市，蘇富比的專家隨即陷入徵集拍品的困境。僅僅七個月後，隨着業務下滑，蘇富比被迫恢復原有的收費制度。

 

以上的照片可展示蘇富比近年的營商策略，也反映出藝術拍賣世界的交易本質。相似地，2019年，莫內的《乾草堆》於紐約蘇富比晚間拍賣中以1.1億美元成交，成為當年最昂貴的畫作。山姆．奈特表示當時的拍賣官哈里．達爾梅尼在競投中對買家喊話：「你花越多時間買它，就會花越多時間享受它。」