Words: Tom Ward
When it comes to British institutions, you’d be hard pressed to beat London’s brace of prestigious auction houses, Sotheby’s and Christie’s. Both established in the 1700s, the auction houses have had their share of record breaking deals, rivalry, and scandal. Occasionally, though, the two houses work together, as was the case throughout much of the 1990s into the early 2000s.
Just over twenty years ago, the auctioneer’s gavel was switched for a judge’s when it was discovered that the two auction houses had been cooperating to fix prices, driving up their margins to mutual benefit.
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